Avatar: Doomsday
by Citizen Grimm
Summary: Begins shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here. Chapter 9 up! Reunions, Part 1!
1. Kurosaka aka Where You Go To Rot

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

The story will center around Mai and Ty Lee's days as Sozin's comet approaches. It will be an AU story but will stay as close to cannon as possible for the first part of the story before turning AU.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip._

The sound of the water droplets falling from the stone ceiling to the cold stone floor echoed loudly in the otherwise silent room. The tiny room was very bleak and dim, cold and unfeeling. It's only source of light came from a pair of torches that flickered from outside the strong steel bars.

A man hung limply from the ceiling inside the prison cell. His feet just grazed the floor and his wrists were bound tightly by firm steel bonds that were connected to the chains that hung from the ceiling. His wrists had been rubbed raw from where the bonds held him.

The man was silent, swinging back and forth on the chains slowly. His right eye was closed peacefully while the left was covered by an eye patch of black leather. His face was rough and unshaven, the result of years of being a captive in a Fire Nation prison cell. His hair was ragged and dirty, clumps of blood and filth ruining the otherwise fine black hair. His build was similar to a cat; lithe, almost skinny, and covered in muscle.

His clothes were little more than rags, stained with dirt, blood, and other unmentionables. His shirt was completely gone, leaving the faint scars that littered his chest and back to been seen. His pants were, thankfully, intact around his waist and groin but the right leg of the pants was missing from the knee down. He wore no shoes and his feet were covered in calluses.

Oddly enough, despite the man's appearance and surroundings a calm, almost serene, smile rested on the man's face. He wasn't worried. The prison guards mouths were far too lose to keep 

anything a secret since the Avatar's return. More importantly than that, though, he knew of the escape of a certain prisoner.

Footsteps. Someone was coming. His single eye snapped open, displaying a sharp silver color that was alien to his nation. He dangled from the ceiling as his smile was replaced with a smirk. Who would come to see him this time? His brother? Or perhaps his father again?

The steel door before him opened and two teenage girls were hurled inside, both bound in thick ropes. The two Fire Nation guards slammed the doors immediately afterwards and moments later he heard the outer door slam shut as well.

The man looked down at two faces that had aged quite a bit since he had last seen them; two faces that he'd never expected to see again.

"Mai, Ty Lee…well, this is unexpected."

* * *

**Citizen Grimm is proud to present**

**Avatar: Doomsday**

**Chapter 1: Kurosaka (a.k.a. Where You Go to Rot)**

* * *

Both girls eyes widened, though the first girl hid in much better. The other one, Ty Lee, was no where nearly as subtle.

"…Raijin? You're alive! What are you doing here?" The newly named Raijin raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged.

"You know, just hanging around." Mai groaned from the floor.

"Shut up," Raijin grinned good naturedly. "I've been waiting for someone to ask me that question for years. How'd you know it was me anyway?"

The pink clad girl smiled at him. "I've never seen anyone else with silver eyes." The chained man nodded in understanding.

The gothic girl glared up at him. "How long have you been here, Raijin? We thought you died when we still children. Razeial announced it to us himself."

Raijin's lone eye narrowed as his voice became cold. "Ah, my dear older brother. How has he been lately? I haven't seen him for quite some time."

Ty Lee spoke before Mai could, already beginning to free herself from her binds. "He's the Fire Lord's Supreme Guard now!"

The eye was little more than a slit now. "Is that so? How heartwarming to see that he's become the personal lap dog of Ozai."

With a delighted cry, Ty Lee freed herself from the ropes that bound her and immediately moved to help Mai. As soon as she was free Ty Lee moved onto Raijin's chains while Mai questioned him. "You never answered my question. Why aren't you dead, why are you here, and what exactly happened to you?" she gestured to his state of dress…or lack thereof.

"Well first off, I've been in prison for years now; I'll take whatever clothes I can get. Anyway, due to my father's meddling, I was changed into the Fire Nation's number one threat to the Fire Lord. I still held that rank until a few months ago when the avatar replaced me." He shrugged lightly in his chains. "'least I lost my title to someone with potential."

Ty Lee finally picked the locks and Raijin dropped to the ground. He stumbled a bit, obviously a bit weak and tired. He steadied himself against a wall for a moment before standing alone. He looked over at the grinning acrobat. "Thanks,"

The girl waved him off. "No problem, Rai!"

Mai continued to glare at him. "You haven't given us a solid answer yet."

Raijin flexed and rotated him arms for a moment before answering, wincing as loud pops were emitted from the joints. "When I was a kid my dad performed some experiments on my brother and I. He claimed to have found something that he called the 'essence of a bender.'"

Raijin scratched the back of his head. "I still have no clue what he was talking about there but I know that he injected some kind of blue liquid into me when I was around three. He said it was the 'essence' of a waterbender."

"What do you mean by essence?" Mai asked. Raijin shrugged and scratched at his face.

"Beats me. I just know that's what he called it. And no, I don't have any idea where he got it either."

Mai's glared softened as Ty Lee gazed at him strangely. "What'd it do to you?"

Raijin scowled darkly. "It took away my ability to firebend."

Ty Lee and Mai both look at him in surprise. Mai asked, "Then why are you a threat to the Fire Lord if you can't even firebend? I remember you were good with swords but not enough to be considered a serious threat to Fire Lord Ozai."

"Hey!" Raijin snapped. "I was more than _good_ with swords! I was one of the best sword wielder's in the whole Fire Nation and I was barely a teenager!" The two girls gazed at him with identical dry looks. "Oh, shut up. When you're in prison you defend whatever honor you've got left as much as you can." The man sighed softly. "Anyway, as I got older that liquid started to do something to my body. That's why I got this," he pointed up at his eye patch.

"The liquid ate out your eye or something?" Mai asked in her familiar monotone, though there was an undertow of curiosity in it. Ty Lee looked up at the patch nervously.

Raijin gave a short chuckle. "Something like that," he lifted up the patch to show them.

In the place of his left eye was a solid black orb. It's surface was segmented so that the visible area looked much like the top of a diamond. It gazed out at them lifelessly, their images reflecting off of it like a mirror. Mai's eye widened and Ty Lee openly trembled. "Your own father did that to you?"

Raijin frowned at pulled the patch back down. "Yeah. My brother didn't anything like this though so I don't think he meant to _this_ on purpose. He got what father called the Flame of Agni. It was some weird looking golden fire. Anyway, that's what has made him so powerful."

"I'm still failing to see why you are here?" Mai asked, already over the freakish eye.

Raijin smirked at her and shook his shaggy head. "Always so impatient, Mai. Too bad Zuzu isn't here to take your mind off things."

Raijin didn't even have time to react to the slap.

With a grimace, he leaned back against a wall and rubbed at his reddened cheek. "Hmm…not exactly the angry rebuttal I expected. Something finally happen between the two of you, eh?" With a sigh, he straightened from the wall and formally bowed to her. "Sorry about that Mai. Old habits die hard, you know?"

Mai lifted her head upwards as a sign of acceptance of his apology. "Just tell us why you're here." She spoke in her usually bored monotone, but there was a certain harshness to it.

Raijin nodded. "I'm here because when this little crystal thing formed from my eye, I gained something to replace my firebending."

"Oooohhh," Ty Lee intoned. "What is it?"

Mai looked at him sharply. "Yes, what is _it_?"

Raijin shook his head. "You're starting to sound like Azula used to Mai." For some reason both girls smirked slightly at that. Raijin continued, "I've become the anti-flame basically. I gained the ability to absorb the heat around me, especially fire."

Ty Lee's jaw went slack as Mai cut to the point. "I see now. No firebender can touch you. If they can't firebend and with your swordsmanship abilities…I take it this is why you're not being held at the Boiling Rock?"

Raijin nodded, his filth covered bangs covering his silver eye momentarily. "That's right. It's kind of hard to use boiling water to imprison a guy who can freeze it solid within seconds. Plus, I can do a little bit more than just freezing stuff…but it's kind of irrelevant now." He looked over at his fellow prisoners. "So, how'd you two get in here instead of the Boiling Rock? Better yet, why are you two in jail at all?"

Ty Lee looked around the small cell. "Where is here exactly?"

Raijin grinned sadly and panned his arm around the room. "Welcome to Kurosaka (Black Hill) Prison ladies." The grin dropped from his face and his voice hardened. "Now since I've already told you my story, perhaps you two can tell me why _you're_ here?"

Ty Lee scratched the back of her head, embarrassed. Mai looked at him in her typical bored gaze. "It's a long story…lots of things have been happening lately."

Raijin dropped to the floor and leaned back against a wall. "Well then, start telling ladies. Trust me; we've got a good amount of time to kill…"

And so tell they did.

"Well," Ty Lee began, "It all started back when Azula made us help here to track down the avatar and Zuko."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Raijin stared at the two girls, absentmindedly scratching his head. "So let me get this straight…you," he nodded towards Mai "and Zuzu finally hooked up…only for him to leave you to betray the entire Fire Nation...after being welcomed home with open arms by Ozai."

Mai glared but Ty Lee gave him an exuberant nod of confirmation. He continued on.

"So Zuko leaves to help the _Avatar_ defeat his father and overthrow his own nation but gets captured trying to break someone out of the Boiling Rock. Then, Mai confronts him and watches him escape from the Boiling Rock – something that has never been done before – with her uncle held hostage and several freed prisoners. And when Azula and you," he pointed at Ty Lee, "Are attempting to stop them, Mai allows them to escape. Have I got it so far?"

Ty Lee nodded happily and clapped her hands together. Mai simply rolled her eyes.

"So then Azula, pissed as usual, is about to flame broil Mai when Ty Lee paralyzes the royal pain in my ass from behind and she sends both of you here."

"Thank you for repeating our story back to us." Mai droned.

Raijin shrugged. "Just making sure I've got all the facts down. And I believe something is in order,"

Raijin swept over and lifted Ty Lee into a hug with a cry of joy. The pink girl look shocked at first but quickly hugged the prisoner back.

Mai rolled her eyes at the display. "What's got you so happy?"

Raijin shot her mischievous grin as he set the acrobat back on her feet. "There are only five people on this planet that know I'm trapped here. My brother, my father, Ozai, and Azula are four of those five. Next time she shows up to try and seduce me into being her muscle I've got more ammo to shoot her down with."

Ty Lee giggled. "She still likes you then?"

Raijin shivered and nodded. "That girl creeps me out like no other."

A heavy pounding sounded on the steel door of the room. A guard's voice rang out from the other side. "Oi! Cero! You best be getting ready for you trip to the Pit today, boy. The Baron's cooked up a real treat for you this time. Oh, and your little friends get to join you too!"

Ty Lee looked over at Raijin. "Who's Cero?" The man shook his head.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I need you two to get me back into my chains. The guards'll be coming in here in any minute and I don't want them being suspicious about anything."

"Why come in here?" Mai asked with a bit of curiosity breaking through her bland demeanor. "And what's 'the Pit?'"

Raijin sighed as Ty Lee latched his left arm back into the chains. "Unfortunately you'll find out yourself. Just cooperate with the guards until we get there, okay? I need both of you to trust me."

Seconds later, his right arm was in place and Raijin once again hung from the ceiling. Not a minute later several guards armed with swords and spears entered the cell and released Raijin from the ceiling. He hit the floor feet first and immediately dropped to his knees. The guards had none of it and dragged him back to his feet, telling him to "march!"

Mai and Ty Lee were soon forced to follow him. It was then that something suddenly dawned on Mai. "You never told us who else knew about you being here."

Raijin spared a glance back at them and received a rough shove for his troubles. "What?"

"You only told us four people who know that you're here. You said there were five who knew. Who is the fifth person then?"

Raijin gave them a wide, toothy smile that looked vastly out of place, given his ragged appearance.

"General Iroh knows that I'm here." He whispered.

* * *

Well, first chapter's done. Not a lot of action but it is necessary to set up a background for Raijin first. Don't worry though; the action is on its way.

Explanations about...

Raijin: He originally started out as a very minor character that would help the girls get out of prison. When I first tried to write him, he simply took over the story and planted an entirely different storyline in my head.

Kurosaka: I created Kurosaka because I felt that The Boiling Rock prison seemed far too soft. Kurosaka is a secret prison so it can do whatever it wishes to its inmates. The Boiling Rock is where famous criminals are sent so the public can feel safer. Kurosaka is where the serious, extremely dangerous prisoners go when the Fire Nation wants them to disappear. Kurosaka translates to Black Hill in Japanese.

Please review and tell me what you think!


	2. The Pit and Cero

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Man, less than a week on the net and already over 50 hits. Bonus! Now if I could get a few more reviews...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Pit and Cero**

* * *

Mai nearly stopped in her tracks as she caught Raijin's whisper. _Iroh knows that he's here…and Iroh just broke out of prison. I remember Azula ranting about that for days._ The pale girl fixed a steely glare at the back of Raijin's shaggy head. …_just what are you planning?_

After a few minutes of walking the trio was forced into a shoulder-to-shoulder line as they faced a large iron gateway. The gate itself was a slate gray in color and mixed with the depressing atmosphere of the prison while still managing to add an aura of nervousness.

Ty Lee rubbed her arms nervously. _Somehow I don't think that door is to keep someone in…but to keep something out._

"Alright," one of the guards – the leader, apparently – spoke up. "Cero, you already know what's going to happen so I'll let you explain it to your little friends here."

Raijin ignored the guard's comment and asked a question instead. "You got any gifts for me?"

The guard cracked a grin. "Surprisingly, yeah, I do. The Baron says that you each get a sword for this one."

Raijin snorted and shifted slightly. "How very kind of him; make sure to thank him for me, Zian."

The guards all let out a laugh. "Will do," Zian chuckled before he sneered at Raijin. "Now get in the Pit and try not to die. Life without you around here would be even more boring." With that, Zian and several of the other guards walked away, leaving only three spear wielding guards.

"What's going on, Rai?" Ty Lee asked nervously.

Before he could answer, the large gateway began to open, making horrible creaking sounds. Immediately, the three prisoners felt the sharp blade of the guard's spears against their backs. "In you go," came the gruff voice of one of the guards.

Raijin, Mai, and Ty Lee all stepped beyond the gateway with no resistance. As soon as they were clear the gate quickly slammed back down to the ground, leaving them trapped on the other side. Mai and Ty Lee quickly scanned their surroundings.

They were in a large arena-like area. It was in the shape of a perfect square and stretched maybe a hundred feet from one side to the other. Directly across from the door they entered stood an identical door with two guards stationed in front of it. The ground was a mixture of gravel and hardened sand. The walls that created the arena stretched up around thirty feet from their base on the ground. Atop the walls were dozens of seats to give a view of the inside of the arena.

"What is this place?" Mai wondered aloud.

"This is the Pit. It's a fighting arena where the prisoners are used to entertain the guards by battling one another or whatever they bring in for us to fight."

"They watch you fight for fun?" Ty Lee asked, shocked and disgusted at the same time.

Raijin nodded. "Sounds like something Azula would enjoy, huh? Anyway, you don't have to worry about fighting any humans in here. There stopped having people fight me a few months after I got here."

"Why doesn't that comfort me at all?" Mai asked sarcastically. Raijin shrugged.

"Probably because it shouldn't comfort you; instead of people, I get to fight monsters."

Mai sighed. "Beautiful,"

Slowly, the seats atop the walls of the Pit began to fill with guards. Atop the walls there was a general feeling of excitement and joy at the upcoming fight. Bets were being made while others discussed past battles in the Pit. Some even speculated on what type of creature it would be this time and who the girls accompany Cero were.

Down in the Pit, however, Mai and Ty Lee glared around nervously while Raijin eyes remained deadlocked on the deck of seats directly in front of them, particularly a large golden throne in the center of the seats.

Finally, all the seats were filled – around sixty in total – save for the throne. A hush fell over the crowd as a lone trumpet blared out, signaling the appearance of the Kurosaka's warden. The man who appeared was rather tall and slender. His skin was slightly tanned from the sun and he was clothed in gaudy crimson robes and golden accessories. A finely combed beard stretched down from his jaw to his chest that shook with every movement.

In the silence the girls could actually hear Raijin's teeth grind together at the sight of the man.

"Who's that?" Ty Lee whispered to Raijin.

Mai interjected before Raijin could speak. "I've seen him before; he's a friend of my uncle's. His name is Baron Seipher."

"His name is Baron? What a funny name!"

"No, his name isn't Baron, that his ti–" Raijin was cut off.

"Greetings, my friends!" the robed man bellowed as he stood in front of his golden throne. "It is once again time for us to witness our dear Cero in another fight to the death!" the crowd exploded at this declaration. The Baron smiled and motion for silence from the crowd. He continued, "Now for this battle you will notice that Cero has been joined by two others, both traitors to the Fire Nation."

The crowd now exploded in a mass of jeers and curses directed at the girls. Mai didn't bat an eye at it but Ty Lee seemed a bit stunned by the crowd. Raijin laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "Ignore them," he whispered.

Seipher continued on. "Now as this week's opponent is a little special, I have decided to give Cero and his friends here a little present." A guard approached Seipher carrying a platter of several weapons. The Baron pulled three from the platter and dismissed the guard.

"For the two traitors, we have a short sword for each of you." The robed man tossed two worn and slightly rusted short swords. "And as for you, Cero, we have an exquisitely made sword." Seipher nonchalantly tossed the weapon down into the rocky sand of the Pit.

Raijin stared at the weapon before and blinked. With a scowl, he yelled up at the Baron. "What in Spirit's name is this?"

Seipher snorted snobbishly. "It is a sword of course."

Raijin hefted up the 'sword' which was no longer than his palm and was about as sharp as a feather. "This isn't a sword! It's a butter knife!"

Baron Seipher shrugged. "Knife…sword…whatever. You have your blade, Cero. Now use it and _die_." He gestured to a pair of guards that stood in front of a large iron door opposite of the door the group had entered through. "Release the beast!"

The two guards yanked open the large gateway and immediately bended a ring of fire around themselves. Raijin's lone silver eye hardened as it peered into the darkness of the open gateway.

"Quick, what are your fighting specialties?" he muttered to the girls in a low voice.

"Throwing knives and senbon," Mai told him.

"Taijutsu with chi blocking techniques," Ty Lee whispered to him nervously.

Raijin was silent for a moment. A screeching cry rang from the darkness of the gateway. Whatever it was it was coming closer.

Raijin snapped into action. "Mai, give me your sword now!"

The stoic girl quickly handed the rusty blade to Raijin. The single eyed man quickly scanned the sword's blade for imperfections in the steel.

_Come on, come on…found one!_

"There!" Raijin cried as he twirled the blade and positioned it alongside his forearm. With a wicked yell, Raijin slammed the blade into the wall.

Within seconds, the rusted steel blade had shattered into dozens of small steel pieces.

Another screech echoed throughout the arena. Raijin ignored it and grinned at Mai. "And there are throwing knives for you." He glanced at Ty Lee "Looks like you and me are just gonna have to wing it."

Mai quickly knelt and picked up the sword's shattered remains while Ty Lee tossed Raijin her sword and took up her typical martial arts stance.

Finally, with one last furious screech the monster revealed itself from the shadows. It slunk forward on all fours much like an Alley-Puma. Its fur was an ugly mix of a muddy orange and yellow. It walked on four thin but powerful legs with a pair of large ivory talons on each foot. Two large feathered wings folded down across its sides from the beast's shoulder blades. It had the head of a very large hawk.

Ty Lee and Mai stared at it in disgust. Raijin's stare was one of pity, hatred, and grim determination.

"What is it?" Ty Lee asked as the creature stretched its bizarre body.

"It is another of my father's creations." Raijin said as he began to advance slowly on the flexing beast. "He takes the parts of different animals and mixes them as he sees fit. If he finds them useful, he keeps them. If they are a waste, well, they get sent here. It looks like this one is part Messenger Hawk and Tiger-Wolf. Just pray that it can't fly."

As if on command the freakish monster spread its mutated wings and screeched into the sky unheeded.

"Nice choice of words," Mai said with a glare. Raijin slapped himself in the forehead.

"Just shut and try and clip its wings from the ground." He glanced over at Ty Lee. "We have to try and get it closer to the ground so that Mai has a better shot. Any ideas?"

The hybrid Tiger-Hawk tore down from the sky in a deadly roll, ivory talons glistening in the sunlight. Raijin hurled his rusty blade at the beast, hoping to force to break its roll and regroup in the air, giving Mai a clear shot.

Instead, the freakish chimera managed to roll around the thrown sword and raced towards Raijin as a blur. Eye wide, the prisoner managed to dive and roll out of the way of the Tiger-Hawk's full grasp but couldn't completely escape the monster's long talons as they slashed a pair of jagged twin cuts across his bare back.

"Rai!" Ty Lee cried as the crowd exploded in celebration at first blood.

"I'm fine!" he grunted. The chimera had swooped back into the sky and dive bombed back down again, this time heading straight for the pink clad girl from behind. "Look out!"

Before Ty Lee even had a chance to turn around several pieces of a broken sword ripped into the creature's side, blood spattering across the gravely sand of the Pit. The hybrid screeched in pain as it began to climb back in the higher altitude.

Before it could even react, Ty Lee had leapt inhumanly high and was now firmly attached to its back.

Raijin pushed himself up from the ground with a grimace and blinked at the sight of Ty Lee clinging to the back of the Tiger-Hawk. "How'd she do that?"

Mai frowned and dropped her arms when she saw that she couldn't get a clear shot with Ty Lee sitting on its back. "She used to work in a circus."

Raijin trotted over and retrieved the thrown sword from the ground. "No kidding? So, she's right at home up there?"

Mai shrugged. "More or less,"

High above, Ty Lee was frowning as she scanned the chimera's back for chi areas to block. "Ohhh! This is so hard! I don't know where to hit! Guess I just have to guess." Her hands blurred as she jabbed the Tiger-Hawk several times between its misshapen shoulder blades. Almost instantly the hybrid monster's right wing went limp and it began a speeding downward spiral.

Raijin paled. "Well that can't be good. Hold on Ty Lee!"

Mai rolled her eyes. "She was in the circus. She'll be fine." Her golden eyes hardened as she launched several more blades that sliced across the Tiger-Hawk's good wing. It stopped its spiral and simply began to plummet towards the ground.

Ty Lee screamed. The crowd of guards cheered wildly.

Raijin discarded his sword and yelled up to Ty Lee, "Jump!"

With a yell, the pink clad girl dove off the top of the beast and landed in Raijin's open arms. He looked down at her, "You alright?"

She blinked and spoke in a woozy voice. "Why are there three of you?"

Raijin shrugged and set her on her still unsteady feet. She still leaned on him heavily. "Don't worry; I'm the one in the middle."

The hybrid monster crashed into the ground with a screeching grunt. The crowd cheered at the impact but was disappointed that none of the prisoners had been hurt.

As soon as Ty Lee was steady Raijin grabbed his sword from the ground and began to walk towards the Tiger-Hawk. "It isn't dead," he spoke as he got closer. "Don't let your guards down."

With an agility that was stunning for its size, the beast rolled to its feet and screeched wildly. Mouth open, it launched a large thorn from its beak. Raijin's blade, though rusty, sliced through the thorn with relative ease.

In the stands the Baron scowled something fierce.

Mai prepared to send out a more blades when she realized she was out. She frowned. _I hate prison._

Ty Lee poked at one of the halves that the Tiger-Hawk had shot at them. She looked over at Raijin, "How did you know that was going to happen?"

"My father always likes to add in something a little special to try and kill me with. He tried fire once but that didn't work out too well for him. Since then he's used thorns, needles, and generally anything sharp and pointy."

Ty Lee sweatdropped. "Oh,"

Growl building in the chimera's throat, it leapt at lone eyed man with its talons shining in the mid-day sun.

Raijin hesitated a moment and as spun around the creature at the last second, slicing a long, bloody cut down the beast's flank as he did so. Before the hybrid could turn to lash out at him, he brought the rusty blade down again, this time slicing deeply into a hind leg.

Ty Lee blinked as Raijin moved. "Wow…he's so fluid with that sword."

Mai nodded. "Yeah, he almost looks a bit like a waterbender when he moves."

Ty Lee nodded emphatically. "I know! He could have been in the circus too!"

Finally, the Tiger-Hawk collapsed from blood loss. Raijin tossed the sword to the dirt and began to walk away. He hadn't gotten more than ten steps when the defeated chimera exploded in crimson and orange flames. Ty Lee and even Mai jumped in surprise.

Raijin didn't so much as flinch.

Turning back to the flaming corpse of the Tiger-Hawk, Raijin lifted his silver eye to meet Baron Seipher's molten gold pair. "You have no regard for life at all, do you?"

The Baron sneered down at his prisoner but said nothing. The crowd remained deathly silent.

"That's fine," Raijin shrugged. "My regard for human life has dropped quite a bit too."

Suddenly, the fire burning the dead monster's corpse flared a hellish black and ripped away from the charred body. Raijin jerked his left arm back smoothly and the black fire followed suit, curving around his back like a stream of water. Then, Raijin lashed his right arm out the fire burst forth in a stream that smashed into the portion of wall right below Seipher. Instantly the sound of many arrows being notched into their bows could be heard.

It all happened in the span of four seconds.

Raijin let his hands drop to his sides and walked over to Ty Lee and Mai, pointedly ignoring the sword he had been using. He ignored the shocked looks the girls shot him, instead asking if they were alright. They simply continued to stare.

Raijin sighed. _And this is why I took up swords…_

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, standing in the crowd of guards stood one guard that appeared a bit larger than the rest. His thick silver/gray beard had been pulled into a small knot as to fit underneath the facial plate of the helmet. His armor was uncomfortably tight due to his size, muscles pressing firmly against the steel plating.

The Dragon of The West thumbed his beard in thought. After a moment, the man nodded to himself and absentmindedly fingered the cool Pai Sho tile in his pocket as he exited the Pit's crowd.

_Tomorrow perhaps? Yes, it will have to be if they intend to help the invasion._ The old general sighed. _I need a good cup of tea…_

* * *

Explanations about...

Raijin's Sword Trick: Okay, I'm sure some of you find Raijin breaking the sword into pieces a bit hard to belive but let's think about it for a second. In the episode The Beach, Zuko sent a teenager as large as him flying across the room with a single handed shove. It's based on a cartoon! Some things won't make sense in reality. However, you also have to look at the sword; it was old, rusty, and utterly dull as it was. Take that into account, along with Raijin claiming to be one of the best swordsmen in the world...and ta-da! Instant shattered sword!

Anyway, review and tell me what you think! I' really curious to know what people think about Raijin and his skills or if Mai and Ty Lee are OCC at all. It drives me insane when a character is OCC!


	3. The Breakout, Part 1

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Less than half a week and I'm already over 100 hits for the story! Thank you so much for reading this, guys! Now if I only had more reviews…oh well, beggars can't be choosers, right?

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Breakout, Part 1**

* * *

The three were silent as were escorted back to the cell, spears pointed at their back the entire way. As soon as the doors were shut and bolted, Mai turned at Raijin with a fierce glare. "What was that?!"

Raijin ignored her, staring at the closed door in confusion before shrugging. "Hmm. Guess we must be at full capacity already."

"I asked you a question." She spoke again, her bored tone barely covering her anger.

Raijin sighed and shook his head. "This is why I told you guys about my bending before we went out there. This is why I tried to hide what I can do for so long. People have never seen anything like it, and because of that they fear it."

Mai opened her mouth to say more but Ty Lee beat her to it. "Um, Rai?"

The prisoner sighed again. "What is it, Ty Lee?"

"Your back is still bleeding,"

Raijin blinked and rubbed his hand where the chimera's talons had cut him. Sure enough, his hand came back streaked with red. He swore under his breath and placed his hand over the bleeding wounds. Seconds later he let out a pained hiss and withdrew his hand.

Ty Lee stared at him. "What did you just do?"

"I used a small bit of my fire to numb up the cuts. It won't heal any faster but the swelling with go down and the blood flow should slow as well. It's about the closest I can come to stitches." He said with a grimace.

"Here," Ty Lee giggled as she walked behind the ragged man. "Let me help,"

Raijin heard a long tearing sound like cloth being ripped, and then felt a soft but not-quite-silk material wrap over the wound and the front of his chest before it was tied in a strong knot against his back.

Raijin blinked at his makeshift bandage. "Thanks," he said to Ty Lee. "Just wish it wasn't, you know…pink."

The acrobat just giggled.

Raijin shook his head at her and brushed the hair back out his eye as he turned back towards Mai. "Well, I'm sure you have more questions. Fire away," he dropped to the ground and leaned back against the wall. Ty Lee mirrored him across the small cell. Mai remained standing between the two.

"Fine. How did you bend fire like that?" she asked.

Raijin snorted. "I already told you that, Mai. Because of my father's experiments I can't firebend normally. Instead, I can suck heat – especially fire – from my surroundings. As you probably noticed, it looks a lot like waterbending. That's partially because it is waterbending, in a sense. Just instead of maneuvering water like waterbenders do, I waterbend fire...if that makes any sense."

Ty Lee stared at Raijin. "What?"

Raijin was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Okay, you know how waterbenders can control the water around them? Well, I'm kind of the same way; I can take fire that has already been created and take control of it. That's the main reason why I'm considered such a threat to the Fire Lord. He could shoot fire at me but I can just send it right back at him."

"Ohhh, I get it!" Ty Lee flashed him a thumbs-up. Mai remained expressionless.

"Why is your fire black? I've never seen any other fire like it. Most firebenders have normal fire, Azula has blue fire. I even seen rare firebenders have _green_ fire, but never black."

Raijin frowned as he answered. "To be honest, I'm really not sure why it's black. My brother claims it's because Agni decided I wasn't worth the color but I think it's black because my fire lacks any heat."

"What?" Mai asked, her confused stare overpowering her neutral voice.

"How can you have fire that has no heat?" Ty Lee asked as she pulled her knees to her chest. "That doesn't make any sense!"

Raijin's lone eye twinkled. "That's why I call it Zero Fire. It can burn people with no heat at all. It is actually so cold that it burns the skin, kinda like dry ice. If I shot it at a tree, the tree would be frozen solid instead of catching fire."

"That's amazing," Ty Lee whispered. Raijin heard her and frowned even deeper.

"Not to everyone, it isn't. That's where the name Cero came from."

"Who is Cero?" Mai asked. "We kept hearing it being called out during the battle. I'm assuming that its–"

"Me? Yeah, I'm Cero." Raijin shrugged nonchalantly, but his voice gave away his true feelings. "My father came up with that name where he threw me in here. In the old language, it means zero, nothing. In other words, he is calling me a nothing and saying that I deserve nothing. Not food, water, freedom, love…"

Ty Lee was silent. Mai rolled her eyes. "Oh please," she moaned. "Get over it; everyone has problems: me, Ty Lee, Zuko, even Azula…sort of."

To her surprise, Raijin chuckled. "Sorry about that. I'm still prone to a bout of teenage angst now and again."

Mai said nothing but rather slumped against the wall next to Ty Lee. "We're not getting out of here, are we?"

"Unless someone comes to help us breakout, no, we're pretty much stuck here. The prison is under heavy lock-and-key. That's why I was surprised when all there of us were placed back into the same cell."

Mai spoke, "Jeeze. How secure is this place?"

"Let's see…they are usually only ten prisoners here at any time, thus only ten cells were made. With both of you in here with me it means that the other cells are all still in use and that the prison is prime position for an escape."

Ty Lee looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? Why is now a good chance for escape?"

"Kurosaka is located in the ocean, at least fifty miles away from Ember Island and completely nonexistent on any map. The only was off the island is by boat, and while they do keep several boats on the island, each one requires twelve people to operate."

"So even if all ten prisoners were to organize a breakout they wouldn't be able to use the boats." Mai intoned.

Raijin nodded. "That's why having two extra prisoners is a huge liability."

Ty Lee shoot to her feet, excited. "Then does this mean we're going to try and escape!"

Raijin inhaled excitedly, "No," he barked.

Ty Lee looked at him in confusion. "We're not…"

Raijin shook his head. "No. Trust me when I say that we wouldn't stand a chance getting out of here. For every prisoner in here there are at least ten guards, both benders and non-benders. Meaning that even though you can fight at full strength, Ty Lee, Mai and I can't. She has no senbon and I have no swords."

Mai glanced over at him. "That's not exactly true…" The pale girl pulled two senbon from her hair buns, allowing the orbs of hair to fall loose with the rest of her hair.

Raijin and Ty Lee just blinked at her.

"What?" Mai asked. "Zuko was always so paranoid. This helped to calm him down a little."

Raijin opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and opened it again. After a moment he huffed out, "Screw it, let's just get some sleep."

"Well, I think it's sweet." Ty Lee mumbled as she curled up on the cold floor.

"And I think Zuko has some serious issues. Now everyone go to sleep. We will get out of here…you just have to trust me when the time comes."

And with those words the fatigue and stress of the battle slammed into the three and soon they had all fallen into a blissful unconsciousness.

****

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing that Mai felt when she awoke was the painful prick of a spear head nestled firmly into the mid-back. She stiffened but didn't have the energy or the nerve to truly protest. _It is way too early to deal with this._

She was roughly forced up to her feet and lined up against the wall. Raijin and Ty Lee were already there; Raijin had a bored look on his face but a nervous curiosity stirred in his eyes and Ty Lee was glaring at anything that moved, a dark look upon her normally serene face.

_Oh boy,_ Mai thought. _Ty Lee didn't get enough sleep…this could be bad._

It was a well known fact – well, for Mai, Azula, and Zuko anyway – that you simply didn't mess the cheery acrobat when she hadn't gotten enough sleep. Zuko had learned the hard way and he still bore the faint scars from his encounter.

After Mai stood in line with Raijin and Ty Lee the door to their cell was pushed open and a man in great red robes swept in.

"How are my new favorite prisoners?" Baron Seipher asked haughtily to the trio.

Raijin's lone eye narrowed to a slit. "What are you doing here? We fought our fight yesterday. We won't have to be back in the Pit for another week."

The Baron waggled a finger in front of the older prisoner's face and made a 'tut-tut' sound. "Oh, but my dear Cero, there are three of you now. Therefore, you will be fighting again…today!"

Raijin grit his teeth for a moment before he grinned ferociously at the Baron. "Fine! We can handle whatever nightmare rejects my father can cook up!"

"I would certainly hope so," Seipher cooed. "I would hate to see anything befall your friends here." He tenderly ran a hand over Ty Lee's face. Mai bored expression quickly shifted to support a slight smirk.

With a snarl that would have sent a Saber-tooth Moose-Lion running, Ty Lee lashed out a vicious kick that smashed into Seipher's nose. She shoved off the wall, maneuvering around the spears aimed at her with ridiculous ease and began blocking chi points on guards right and left.

Within four seconds Ty Lee had broken the Baron's nose and managed to take out half of his honor guard. Then, as quickly as she had started she stopped and learned back against the wall breathing heavily and arms resting at her sides.

Raijin quickly kicked up one of the loose spears and aimed it at Seipher's throat. He gazed down at the Baron coldly, pointedly ignoring the spear aimed at _his_ throat. "Leave now and we'll call it even."

Seipher glanced around the room quickly with a hand still clutching at his bleeding nose. The trio of prisoners all had spears aimed to kill on them but the cold steel touched his Adam's apple prevented him from giving the command to kill. True, he could firebend but the silver eyed brat would either redirect the flame or simply lance him before he could create more than a puff of smoke.

So, to his great displeasure, Seipher gave the command to stand down. With a final threat about the day's appearance in the Pit, Baron Seipher and his men turned tail and left the cell, slamming the door in his wake.

Raijin let out a whoop of joy and lifted Ty Lee up in a great bear hug. Before he even got her off the ground he felt several sharp poking sensations before he dropped to the ground in a heap. Mai knelt down next to his head and shook her head. "You shouldn't ever bother Ty Lee when she hasn't had enough sleep."

Raijin blinked and futility tried to shift his limp body. He sweatdropped and muttered, "I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

****

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A decent amount of time later – long enough for Raijin to get back control of his body and Ty Lee to snap back to her normal attitude and apologize profusely – the three sat on the cold stone floor of the cell and tried to plan an escape.

"I still don't know why we just didn't make a run for it after Ty Lee had taken everyone out." She huffed.

Raijin rolled his eyes tiredly. Things could get so much more complicated having to deal with opinions other than his own. "I already went over this, Mai. Even if Ty Lee hadn't paralyzed me," he absentmindedly waved off the younger girl's continued apologies. "There was no way we could have escaped. Even if we had taken the Baron prisoner, he has a lot of guards at his disposal, some of them being former Yu-Yan Archers. We have a skilled acrobat, two senbon, and a spear. Not exactly an intimidating force,"

Raijin shook his shaggy head. "There's no way to force your way out of here…you have to have something more."

"Like what?" Ty Lee asked him.

"Help. We gonna need help…and probably a miracle."

"Or two," Mai muttered.

Raijin shrugged. "Couldn't hurt,"

Before anything else could be said the outer doors to their cell began to creak open. The three sighed in unison. "Back to the Pit we go," mutter Raijin. "Same as yesterday, girls; just be nice and calm."

Minutes later they found themselves in the Pit. Raijin's spear had obviously been taken by the guards but Mai had re-hidden her senbon back into her hair.

The Baron appeared from high above and glared down at them. There was no grand entrance this time nor were there any gaudy robes. There had been replaced with thicker, more battle ready Fire Nation robes. All his normal golden accessories had also been forgone, instead a long sword rested at his side in a shining sheath. Raijin eyed it with envy.

"Cero!" Seipher's voice boomed in the stadium over the silent crowd. "Today is the day I will witness your death! I have a very special surprise from High Monk Hanzo just for you. You see, he's apparently gotten a hold of some very special things recently and this creature, he claims, is no more than a building block for his future creations. However, it is far from useless. Behold!"

He waved his arms fanatically and the guards below opened the gateway opposite the trio. They immediately bolted past the trio and into the gateway where they had come from, slamming the door shut on their way.

"A being infused with the agility and poison of a Cobra-Rabbit, the raw strength of a Gorilla-Rhino, and the blood of a…" Seipher smiled wicked and Raijin felt a wave of unease come over him.

"Dragon!" Seipher screamed as the creature shot forth from its chambers with a horrific cry. It gazed down at them with hungry violet eyes.

Ty Lee stumbled backwards, Mai's jaw dropped, Raijin gulped loudly. Ty Lee mumbled as she stared at it, "I don't like this. Its aura is just…wrong."

Raijin shook his head, still in shock. "Its aura is the last thing I worried about right now, Ty."

"Ditto," Mai said, fear creeping into her normally steady voice.

The monster stood close to twenty feet tall and was probably thirty feet long. Its long body was a mixture of snake and dragon, covered it hard and sharp scales all a poisonous green. It had no legs, instead slithering across the ground like a snake. The snake body took up about two thirds of the actual monster, the rest being the torso that sat upon the body. The torso was that of a very large crimson colored gorilla. It had two impossibly large arms that each ended in a scale covered meaty fist. Finally, its head was mutated so that it held snake's eyes on the gorilla's face.

"Your father called it the Amemnock. Have fun, Cero!"

The Amemnock let loose a demonic roar that shook the Pit's gravely floor. Raijin took a deep breath to calm himself and took a solid fighting stance. Ty Lee quickly followed as Mai pulled his hidden senbon from her hair and twirled them dangerously.

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Explanations about...

Raijin's Wounds: I will admit that Raijin is a fast healer but there is a reason that most of his scars are very faint. It will be explained in later chapters.

Ty Lee's Bad Mood: Alright, the way I figure it Ty Lee cannot be happy and cheerful 24/7. So, I put in the bit about a lack of sleep making her grumpy. You all saw what it did to Aang's group in the series; they were at each other's throats! As for taking out the guards so easily…well, Ty Lee can take out a master bender in a happy cheerful mood without a whole lot of trouble. Now imagine her attacking when she was angry…yeah, it scares me too.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	4. The Breakout, Part 2

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Over two hundred hits! Make sure to read the little note at the bottom of the story so you guys know what's gonna be happening now, okay? Thanks a ton and…

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Breakout, Part 2**

* * *

And then all hell broke loose.

There was a great thunderclap of sound followed by a _massive_ wall of water that dwarfed the Pit. The crowd stood stock still, shocked beyond belief. Even the Amemnock looked slightly apprehensive. The water wall held steady for only a moment but it gave a hidden guard all the time he needed.

"Raijin!" yelled a wizened, but strong voice through the silence. "Protect yourself!"

The guard, the former heir-to-the-throne and ex-general, Iroh sent a powerful burst of flame from the stands at Raijin. The teen's smile nearly split his face as the flames disappeared around him, absorbed inside him.

"Get next to me," Raijin muttered tonelessly to the girls. At their hesitation, he barked coldly, "Now!"

In the stands, Iroh was easily outmaneuvering other guards, keeping himself moving at all times. He yelled out, "Now Pakku!"

Instantly, wall of water came crashing down, destroying everything in its path. Raijin leapt into the air and spun quickly, letting loose a short but intense stream of black fire. Any water that it touched froze on impact forming a safe zone for them. Raijin quickly sent a burst of the zero fire above them as well, fully encasing them inside an icy cage but protecting them from the large tidal wave.

After a few moments the torrent of water subsided and another guard quickly sliced through the cage as though it was made of sand. Raijin's eye widened as he recognized the sword and its movements…they were _very_ similar to his own.

"M-master?" he uttered in shock. The guard ignored his question and shouted at them.

"Don't just stand around! Get to one of the boats. This is a breakout for the three of you; get moving!" with that he was off fighting more guards that had stormed the Pit.

"You heard the man," Mai said. "Let's get going. This place is boring anyway."

Ty Lee gazed at the chaos that had overtaken the Pit as they began to run towards one of the large exits. "I don't know, Mai. I think this place is pretty exciting."

Iroh was still in the stands, now dukeing it out with several of Seipher's guards and the Baron himself. Iroh seemed to be handling the guards easily enough but their attack kept giving Seipher openings. And despite his large guard squad, Seipher was a very experience firebender and warrior. Meanwhile, the nameless swordsman was continuing to cut through fire nation shoulders at a dizzying pace; even more incredible was the fact that none of the wounds he was inflicting were lethal. Next to him was a man garbed in the blue clothes of a waterbender with a fine white beard and slightly bald head. He had obviously been the one who had created the water wall.

Then, like a crazed hog-monkey, another elderly man came flying through one of the Pit's walls riding on a large pillar of rock. He cackled wildly as he sent guardsmen after guardsmen flying with blasts of rock. Every few seconds he would pause to take a bite of what looked like a bright green rock.

During all of this the trio continued their race towards the doorway, evading any battles that they could. "Almost there," Raijin muttered.

Less than twenty feet away from the door a massive tail came crashing down in front of them, almost crushing Ty Lee had not Raijin yanked her back at the last second. As one, seven eyes followed the long tail to the large creature that had now slithered in front of their exit.

The Amemnock gazed down at them hungrily with its sinister eyes. It let out another hellacious roar.

Raijin sweatdropped. "I thought we forgot something…"

Instantly, a line of guards, each wielding wicked looking spears, faced the trio from the right. "Hold it right there, Cero. You aren't going anywhere."

Apparently the Amemnock had other plans. Its upper body shot down and breathed a burst of green flames at the guards. Mai peered at the fire nervously. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she noted something very interesting. _That's not fire…but what is it?_

She got her answer seconds later as a line of guardsmen fell over in shock. Their armor had been melted clean off. Raijin felt hope deflate even more. "It breathes an acidic mist…wonderful."

Mai looked at the guards. "I would suggest you all leave now unless you want to become monster chow."

Raijin's eye darted around the area, looking for anything to use against the titanic beast. He found nothing of use; any spears that the guardsmen had held had either been burnt to a crisp or sliced into pieces. _Not good…_

Mai and Ty Lee immediately snapped into action at Raijin's hesitation. Before the Amemnock could even move a senbon had been lodged deep into one of its eyes, rendering it useless. Ty Lee had used the Amemnock's recoil from the pain to leap over its long tail and race up it, heading for the gorilla-like torso. She managed a speedy three hits before leaping over another breath of the acid mist and back to the ground.

"How'd you do that?" Raijin mumbled.

Ty Lee watched the Amemnock's movements carefully before answering. "A gorilla's body is very similar to a human's…just a lot harder to shut down. But don't worry; me and Mai can handle it no problem!"

"We can?" Mai asked never taking her eyes off of the Amemnock's remaining eye.

"You bet! Now go help the guys trying to get us out of here. We'll meet you guys at a boat!"

Raijin smiled briefly before he began to sprint away. "Whatever you say,"

Immediately he began to head to where Iroh and Seipher were duking it out. Iroh clearly had the upper hand in a one-on-one but with the surrounding guards Seipher was slowly taking over the fight.

_Not while I'm around,_ Raijin thought.

He glanced around and noticed the bizarre earthbender nearby. "Hey!" he barked across the roar of the battle. The older man glanced at him. "Can you give me a boost?"

The old man cackled wildly. "A boost? I don't see why not!" he stomped heavy on the ground and threw up a single arm. Moments later Raijin was landing in the upper area, having been launched by a pillar of rock. The old man sighed as he began to entomb the bodies of the guard's in gravely earth. "I wish Momo was here…"

High above, Raijin raced through the crowd, throwing heel kicks and haymakers as he did. He grinned darkly as he neared Iroh. All he needed now was an opening to take care of everything.

Surprisingly, it was Seipher who gave it to him.

A prison guard tore at Iroh's defenseless back with a spear but slumped to his knees after a strong back kick from the ex-general. Seipher used the time to prepare an extra large fireball. Seeing the opening, Raijin raced towards then and, using the slumping guard as a booster, flipped completely over the Dragon of the West.

Seipher's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to pull back his attack but it was too late. It sailed freely directly to Raijin's waiting arms. It vanished from sight within seconds as the long time prisoner stared down the prison's warden with a frozen silver glare.

"Now Cero," Seipher didn't get any further in his plea as Raijin went on the offensive. He was a blur of black flames as he launched several bursts at the Baron. The prison leader managed to avoid them but allowed Raijin to get even closer. Before he could react Raijin was behind him with a dagger of black flames dancing in his hand over the Baron's throat.

"Tell your men to stand down," Raijin growled.

Seipher scowled darkly as he mentally promised the teen would beg for death after this. His mouth however, said differently, "Stand down men!"

Much of the battle stopped, all the Fire Nation guards having lowered their swords or stopped bending altogether. The Amemnock, however, continued to lash out at Mai and Ty Lee who were continually attacking it as well. So far Mai had managed to blind one of the creature's eyes but her second shot had been lodged just above the eye, and Ty Lee had managed to slow down the tail a great amount and stop its left arm altogether.

Raijin's eyes darted back and forth from Seipher to the girls several times. With a growl he shoved the defenseless Seipher to Iroh who caught him and immediately took up the same position Raijin had held.

The silver eyed man stormed over to the Baron and spoke to him in a deadly hiss. "You thank Agni that we need you as a hostage. I cannot kill you now, Seipher, but I will eventually. For now, I guess I'll just have to settle for this!"

He yanked the Baron's sword, a jian – a double-edged straight sword – from its sheath and raced towards the girls, leaping from the seating area down to the Pit's floor. Seipher glared at him all the way, mumbling to Iroh. "You will never escape, traitor."

"Quite the contrary," Iroh spoke as he removed his helmet and revealed his identity. Many of the guardsmen immediately dropped their weapons at the sight of the former general. "I think we will leave here rather pleasantly."

Bumi quickly began encasing the guardsmen around the Pit in rock, laughing and snorting all the while. The waterbender and the swordsman from earlier rose up to the stands on a pillar of stone that the King of Omashu created for them.

Pakku spoke first. "Iroh, we have taken over the base and I have secured the dock as well. We have a boat waiting and should leave immediately."

The swordsman also removed his helmet. "Yes, General Iroh. We should be leaving now. It does not help to dwell here." Spoke Piandao.

"I agree, but we have a slight problem still." Iroh tilted his head towards the Amemnock and the trio fighting it.

"Ah," the two older men chorused.

****

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Raijin raced towards the edge of the stands and leapt from them, mentally screaming all the way. _Stupid, stupid, stupid idea!!_

He angled the blade slightly as he came down…directly on top of the Amemnock. Using the momentum from the fall and the angle of the blade, he managed to tear a large gash across the creature's shoulder blade down to where the torso and tail merged.

The Amemnock let out a wail of pain and anger as Raijin dropped to the ground beside Mai and Ty Lee. "What took you so long?"

Raijin shrugged. "I'm a bit out of practice fighting humans, Mai. You out of senbon?"

The gothic girl nodded. "Alright," Raijin spoke to the girls. "You two have done more than enough here, go help out the crazy earthbender until we get out of here."

"But–" Ty Lee began but Raijin silenced her with a raised hand.

"Just go." He winked at her with his lone eye. "I'll be fine here."

Without another complaint, both girls rushed to help the former Omashu King. Raijin cracked his neck loudly and leered up at the recovering Amemnock. He twirled the sword in his right hand, casual as can be. "Here we go," he smiled and raced the monster.

He jumped over the lethargic tail swipe with practiced ease, thanking Ty Lee's chi blocking the entire time, and continued to run at the creature's right side, a blind spot due to Mai's well placed senbon. He tore open a long cut across its tail making the Amemnock hiss in pain and blow a flare of the acid breath at him.

Raijin sprinted past the behemoth and jumped at the wall behind it. As soon as his feet made contact with the stone, he pushed off it with a grunt and sent himself sailing past the Amemnock's left side. He managed to give it a shallow cut before its hand smashed down where he had been seconds ago.

Raijin slid across the ground in a gentle crouch, sword resting loosely in his right hand. _Weakening the base, check. _The prisoner mentally noted. _Now wait for it to make a mistake…_

The Amemnock lashed out with a tail slam, smashing it into the ground with terrible strength. A grin split Raijin's face. _And that would be my cue!_

Raijin ran and grabbed the large tail as it flicked backwards, heading towards it normal position behind the Amemnock. Raijin let go as soon as it was chest level with the monster, being sent sailing through the air and plunged the straight sword into the Amemnock's hairy chest.

A massive hand immediately smacked the teen away, knocking him for a loop briefly. Raijin ignored the black spots dancing across his vision set his face into an icy mask. With a slight grimace, Raijin launched both of his fists forward powerfully; twin pillars of black zero fire followed them and slammed into the Amemnock's face.

The monster managed to let loose a single screech of pain before toppling over and smashing its head against the wall behind it. The Amemnock's head crackled loudly, frozen pieces falling off like glass.

Raijin managed a brief smile before he hit the ground roughly and darkness over took him.

****

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ty Lee had seen the whole thing and was at Raijin's side seconds after he hit. Mai was not far behind her.

Ty Lee cradled the unconscious teen's head in her lap. Mai looked over at the dead Amemnock and gave a low whistle. "That was…impressive." Her voice gave away her surprise.

Bumi walked over towards the two, all the guardsmen having been entombed in earth or frozen in ice from Pakku. He gave the one eyed man a once over. "He'll be just fine. A little banged up, maybe a broken rib at the worst, and a bit malnourished. All in all, not too bad when you look at where he's been for the past five years."

He bent down and took the teen from Ty Lee, placing him carefully across his back. "Come on, girls! To the docks! Ha ha!"

The mad genius began to head towards the docks where Piandao, Pakku, Iroh and the captive Baron all were waiting. Ty Lee followed after his briskly, worry for Raijin still evident on her face. Mai stared after them for a moment.

"Maybe I should have traded him for Tom-Tom. Would've made things a lot easier in the long run."

A few minutes later the group were all settled on the only remaining boat in the docks. Pakku had destroyed all the others to prevent any followers. The Baron was seething now in Iroh's grip/

"I will kill all of you," he hissed. "Except for you, Iroh! I will deliver you to Fire Lord Ozai so that he can deal with your betrayal personally!"

Iroh chuckled. "I can only imagine my brother's reaction to hearing of my escape from prison. I have no desire to face him now."

Pakku glanced at the Baron as though he were a piece of dung stuck to his boot and asked Iroh. "What shall we do with him?"

Piandao drew his sword again. "Shall I dispose of him?"

Iroh shook his head but it was another voice that answered. "No,"

Everyone turned to see Raijin sitting up on the floor, holding his ribs. Ty Lee came forward to help him stand but he waved her off and struggled to his feet himself, pain etched in his face the entire time. "Don't kill him,"

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "What would you do, Raijin?"

The teen managed a grin. "Leave him for Ozai to deal with." He looked over at the Baron whose eyes had gone wide in realization. "Ozai left you in charge of the most high security prison in the Fire Nation and you will have three escapees, two of which we sent here directly under the command of Princess Azula, and the other being one of the greatest threats to the Fire Lord. How do you think he's going to deal with you?"

Iroh thumbed his beard thoughtfully for a moment. "Very well. We shall leave him for my brother to deal with." With that, Iroh spun to Baron to face him and struck him firmly in the chest with a palm strike. Seipher flew over the boat's railing and landed roughly on the wooden dock. Iroh wasted no time in unleashing a dragon-like burst of flame from his mouth, engulfing the docks.

Seipher scrambled off of the wood and back on to the island in seconds. But he was now too far away to try and firebend at the boat. _Damn…_

"Pakku," Iroh spoke cheerfully as Raijin laid himself back down. "If you will."

With a quick bow, the master waterbender of the North Pole began to waterbend the ship away from Kurosaka Prison.

* * *

Explanations about…

I can't think of any explanation off the top of my head. If you are curious about anything, just leave a review and I'll get back to you.

Anyway, this came out totally different than I originally planned. It was supposed to be just Iroh and Pakku there but Piandao and Bumi kind of just pushed themselves in. Oh well, I love Bumi's character. On top of that, the battle was supposed to be rather quick and sudden, leaving Seipher to deal with the Amemnock, which I love as a monster.

Anyway, I'll be gone in Canada for a while at Cross Country camp so there might not be any updates for the rest of this month. But if I manage to get five reviews by the time I get back, I'll make sure to do a double update when I get back in September. Sound good?

Thanks for reading and please review!


	5. Vengeful Plans

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Okay, I am writing this in my 'personal time' up here in Canada with my college cross country team. Unfortunately, I didn't get the five reviews I wanted so no double update but that's probably a good thing considering that I only had enough time to finish this chapter. Hopefully, I can have the next one done sometime next weekend.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Vengeful Plans**

* * *

It was a full day before Raijin woke after the escape. Ty Lee had been a bit nervous at how exhausted he had been but Iroh had just told her that, "a man needs his rest."

When the former prisoner came to he was greeted with the sight of a cheery Iroh sipping a cup of tea by his bedside. The ex-general gave him a large grin as he sat up and offered up a white porcelain cup.

"Tea? It's _jasmine_,"

Raijin couldn't help but smile as he took the cup. "It's good to see you General Iroh."

Iroh waved a hand at him. "Please, I am no longer a general and should not be addressed as one. I'm not even with the Fire Nation anymore yet everyone insists on calling me 'General.'"

Raijin smiled behind his cup. _Same old Iroh._ Raijin took the man into greater detail and his eye widened slightly. _Okay…maybe he's made a few changes._

Iroh was much larger than he ever remembered him, even back during his siege on Ba Sing Se. The man wasn't a wall of muscle by any means but he seemed much more solid than Raijin remembered. He had also let his beard grow out so that it was one solid form, almost making a curtain for his neck. Tilting his head slightly, Raijin also saw that the ex-general had let his white hair grow out a bit. But more than anything, Raijin noticed that his belly, which had swelled as grew older, was almost nonexistent now.

Raijin brushed some of his too long hair out of his eyes and asked, "How long have I been out?"

"A little over a day since we left the prison. You do not need to worry about us being pursued; with a master waterbending at the helm we are making excellent time. No ship in the Fire Nation could catch us."

Raijin nodded and let his body slump back against the bed. Feeling the pillow holding his head Raijin realized that this was the first time he'd used a pillow – or a bed, for that matter – in half a decade. A wide grin split his face as he bounded up and raced for the door. The free world was just outside!

Iroh cleared his throat loudly. Raijin's hand stopped just before the door handle and he turned back to face Iroh.

Iroh laughed at the excitement on the teen's face. "I was just going to suggest that you shower and put on the change I brought for you before heading outside."

Raijin scratched the back of his head and peered at the bathroom on the far side of the room. "That…sounds nice,"

Iroh just chuckled and let himself out, leaving the teen alone.

****

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was another hour before Raijin emerged from his cabin. His hair was still too long and damp with water but his hair was much, much cleaner, and his face was clean shaven now. The clothes Iroh had left for him were nothing overly special but they were much better than what he had previously. A simple dark green sleeveless shirt and a pair of light black pants with matching color shoes. Along with clean undergarments, Iroh had even managed to get him a new eye-patch.

Needless to say, he wasn't expecting Ty Lee to burst out laughing when she saw him. "What's so funny?"

The girl calmed herself. "Sorry, Rai, but you just look a lot like Zuko right now."

Mai huffed. "Please, Zuko looks much better that Raijin."

Ty Lee grinned at her old friend as she did a handstand. "You're just saying that because you're in love with Zuko, Mai. Oh, don't look away! Ever since you two got together at Ember Island you aura has been brighter than ever! Besides," Ty Lee gave Raijin another once over. "I think he looks good…except for one thing."

Raijin raised an eyebrow, a bit unsure of what to say at this point.

Ty Lee flipped out her handstand and land inches away from Raijin, staring the larger teen down. She giggled and pulled lightly at the hair dangling in front of his eyes. "You hair's too long, silly. But don't worry; I can cut it for you!"

Raijin leaned around the acrobat and look at the gothic teen. "Mai…" he whined.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Relax; I'll cut his hair, Ty Lee. Why don't you go talk to Bumi some more."

Ty Lee peered back and forth at the two but finally shrugged and left in search for Bumi.

Raijin rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks Mai, but who's Bumi?"

"Having Ty Lee give someone a haircut is too cruel, even for me. As for Bumi, do you remember the crazy earthbender from the breakout?" Raijin nodded.

"Yeah, but what does that…oh spirits, Ty Lee is friends with an insane earthbender. That cannot end up well."

Mai shrugged. "Who cares? Now go find a chair and scissors so I can get this over with."

Raijin mock saluted. "Yes mam!" and left in search of the goods.

Minutes later, Raijin was sporting a new hairdo. His wild mane had been trimmed back so that his bangs stopped at the middle of his forehead and he had a small bunch of hair tied back at the base of his neck (if you need a visual, think of Miroku's haircut).

Shortly after, Iroh came, and after complementing Raijin on his haircut, took him to meet the others who had helped in the breakout. He led him to the helm of the ship where the three other men stood in a line in front of a long table. Mai and Ty Lee were already sitting at the table waiting.

The first man Raijin knew very, very well. Upon sight on him, Raijin bowed deeply. "It is an honor to see you again, Master Piandao."

The older man smiled widely. "It is good to see you too, Raijin. I expect that we have much to talk about."

The next was a man of average height with a balding head of white hair and neatly trimmed facial hair in the same color. He was dressed in a thick blue jacket with pants in matching color with a stern look upon his face. "Greetings, I am Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe."

Raijin bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Yes, I have heard of you. You led the resistance against the Fire Nation invasion there a few months ago, correct?"

Pakku gave him a slight smile. "It seems that you are well informed."

Raijin shrugged. "Guards like to talk…a lot." That earned a laugh from Iroh.

The next man was Bumi, as Mai had told him. The man was stooped over in his old age – and he looked old – with a short and stubby gray beard and several rings on his fingers. He had a bizarre cap atop his head with two long feathers extending from it down to behind his back. He wore a large green robe that covered most of his body.

The man extended out a shake to greet Raijin. Cautiously, Raijin extended one of his own to greet the man but raised an eyebrow when Bumi jerked his hand back at the last second. The old man let out a series of laughs and snorts before crushing Raijin in a hug. "The name's Bumi, resident King of Omashu."

Bumi released Raijin, who glanced at Iroh, eye clearing asking, _'is this guy really a king?'_

Iroh just chuckled. "Alright, now that introductions are over we must get down to business. You may know scraps on information, Raijin, but now you need to know exactly what we are up against."

"In a few days Sozin's comet will arrive," Piandao began. "I trust you know what that is and what it can do so I shall move on. Under General Iroh's command we plan to overtake Ba Sing Se during that time, bringing it back under Earth Kingdom control."

"However," Pakku interrupted. "we are unaware of what Ozai's plans are for the when the comet comes. If he is not at Ba Sing Se then there is no way that we will be able to counter whatever his plans are."

"Realistically though, Ozai will attack the Earth Nation in some way; he won't allow the comet to pass with no action." Bumi said in a grave voice. "Most likely he will not consider the recently reclaimed Omashu as a threat and will focus on destroying any resistance left in Ba Sing Se."

"I…see," Raijin muttered. "This does not look good. What are the Avatar's plans for the comet's arrival?"

"We…do not know," Pakku said quietly. "We have not been in contact with the Avatar's group in over a month."

"So let me get this straight," Mai said from her place at the table. "You all plan to take back Ba Sing Se but have no idea what the Fire Lord's plans are or what the Avatar is going to do to stop him?"

Bumi shrugged. "More or less,"

"On that same subject," Iroh interjected. "You two, Mai and Ty Lee, were the last to encounter members of the Avatar's group at the Boiling Rock. Did you learn anything about their plans?"

"Nope," Ty Lee shook her head. "I was with Azula most of the time and we just fought against them. Let's see…there was the water tribe boy Sokka, that warrior girl Suti or something like that, Sokka's dad, some other prisoner, and Zuko."

Iroh's bushy eyebrows rose but he kept his face blank. "My nephew was there?"

Mai scowled slightly. "Yes, Zuko was found at the prison. My uncle is the warden there and he notified me so that I could see him…after he broke up with me…with a note."

Collectively, the entire table winced at that. Iroh frowned, "I thought I taught so much better than that,"

"Its fine," Mai muttered. "Zuko's been going through a lot since you last saw him. He told me that he faced his father on the Day of Black Sun before becoming a full-fledged traitor to the Fire Nation. Apparently, he had joined up with the Avatar and was captured while trying to help Sokka's father, a water tribe chief, escape from prison."

Iroh tried to suppress a smile but could not. "It seems that Zuko has finally chosen his path. This is excellent news; we shall need all the help we can get on the day Sozin's comet arrives."

Piandao looked over at Raijin. "Speaking of the comet, I know that you have special bending properties, Raijin. How will you be affected by the comet?"

The ex-prisoner shrugged. "No idea; I've never experienced something like this before."

"I see," Pakku muttered to himself. "I noticed that your bending seems to be a mix of firebending and waterbending, so theoretically your bending should be stronger at certain times of the day, just as waterbenders are stronger at night and firebenders are in the day."

"Yes," Iroh spoke. "Firebenders are strongest at high noon and become even more powerful when Sozin's comet draws near. Waterbenders, however, are strongest on the night of a full moon." Pakku nodded in agreement.

"Um, I know this is interesting but shouldn't we be more worried about what the Fire Lord and Azula are planning instead?" Ty Lee asked.

Iroh smiled at her. "You are correct in your assumption, Ty Lee, but it is vital to try and discover if Raijin should even fight during the comet's arrival. We would not want him to be weakened before battle."

Raijin sighed. "Well from personal experience I can tell you that I know I'm the strongest at midnight on the night of a new moon, when the sky is completely empty. During the day of the eclipse I felt very weak and couldn't bend in the least. With Sozin's comet I have a feeling that the opposite will happen and I will be at my strongest."

Bumi snorted. "Or you'll be weak as a newborn,"

Iroh ignored the older man and look at Raijin, his face more serious than the teen had ever seen it. "Raijin, can we depend on your help to take back Ba Sing Se?"

"To be honest, Iroh, Ba Sing Se is the farthest thing from my mind."

The table was dead silent and every eye was now focused solely on Raijin. "What do you mean by that, boy?" Pakku asked coldly.

"I mean that I have other plans." Raijin said reasonably. "Don't get me wrong, I do plan on helping to kill Ozai but I really don't care about some Earth Kingdom city."

Piandao, the man who had trained Raijin personally, kept his voice light as he spoke, "Then what are your plans, Raijin?"

The teen was silent but his body tensed and his silver eye hardened. "That's easy," his voice was sharp and cold. "I plan to kill my family, Ozai, and Azula."

* * *

Woo! I wrote this whole thing in about an hour or two so I'm sorry if there are any spelling errors. Just tell me about them and I'll make sure to fix them up.

Explanations about…

Raijin's new look: The guy just got out of prison and needed new clothes badly. Since they're going to the Earth Kingdom right now, I figured it would make more sense to give him green clothes instead of red. As for the hairdo…well, I couldn't think of anything else that wasn't overly plain.

Raijin's attitude at the end: There's a lot here that will be explained the next chapter so I can't give away much...

Piandao as Raijin's master: I used Piandao as Raijin's master to make his swordsmanship seem more believable. If Sokka learned all his skills in about a week, imagine what Raijin could do in several months or even a year.

Jeong Jeong absence: He's keeping things under control back at the camp. I didn't think that they would need two firebenders for this mission.

Woo! Wrote this whole thing in about an hour or two so I'm sorry if there are any spelling errors. Just tell me about them and I'll make sure to fix them up.


	6. Bombshell Dropped

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Okay, I've had this done for a few days but wanted to update it on the 10th, the one month mark for _A:D_! So far this has been my most updated, most read, and most reviewed story. A major thank you to all who have reviewed or read. I'd guesstimate that the story is about ¼ over right now and we're nearing the divergence point of the true continuity. Things won't change much from cannon but with the inclusion of the OCs and the new storyline there will obviously be some changes.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Bombshell…Dropped.**

* * *

The room was dead silent as everyone stared at Raijin. Iroh looked a little stunned at the bold declaration. Piandao looked disappointed but not all that surprised. Pakku eyed the teenager coldly, his eyes like chips of ice. Bumi stared at him as though he hadn't really been there before with a sad frown on his face. Even Mai's eyes had widened and her mouth hung open loosely. People just didn't say things like that so simply!

Raijin met all of there stares unabashed. There was only one whose eyes he could not meet.

Ty Lee looked like someone had punched her in the stomach. Kill Azula? She might have attacked Azula to save Mai but Azula was still a long time friend…and someone to be feared. Raijin couldn't fight Azula! He'd die for sure!

Tears blurred her eyes slightly as she slammed her fists on the table in front of her. Raijin flinched slightly, meeting Ty Lee's clouding eyes for the first time.

"Why?" she whispered.

Raijin played dumb. "Why what?"

"Why Azula?! What has she done to you, Rai? You've been stuck in prison! There's nothing Azula could have done to you in there." The acrobat demanded.

"What has she done to me?" Raijin chuckled lowly. The rest of the table remained silent. "Azula tried to make my life more hellish anytime she could. For the first three years of my imprisonment she would mock me in my cell, and offer me freedom if only I would agree to be her 'aide.' I refused every time and when I did Azula would have me chained from the ceilings for days with no food."

Raijin's voice had grown colder with each word and he was visibly shaking near the end with anger. "Azula was every bit as bad as my brother, and you know what I think of him."

"So you fight for revenge?" Pakku asked from down the table. "How pathetically selfish,"

"It is selfish, I do not deny that." Raijin answered. "But through these deaths this world will prosper. Ozai is a tyrant from a bloodline of tyrants and Azula will put her ancestors to shame in that department. As for my father, he is the most cunning, sadistic, evil, man on the face of this plane. It's his fault that I spent the past five years of my life rotting away in a prison."

Piandao nodded at this. "While I do not agree with everything you have said, I will agree that Hanzo is incredibly dangerous should he take the throne."

Bumi scratched his head. "What's so dangerous about this guy? I've heard of many powerful firebenders but never of this Hanzo fellow."

Raijin scowled. "He's not a bender at all. I doubt the man can ever fight properly. He was the only man to become a Fire Sage without being a firebender. His power lies in his frightening deep understand and connection to the Spirit World and in my brother."

Iroh gave a deep, sad sigh and began to speak. "Raijin's brother, Razeial, is easily one of the most powerful benders in the world. It would not surprise me at all if he has even surpassed my brother. Long ago, he was the best friend of my son, Lu Ten, and they both fought in my siege at Ba Sing Se. It was Razeial that managed to bring my sons body back to me."

Raijin felt his energy leave him in a rush and slumped down in his seat. "Iroh…" he whispered under his breath. A cold hand gripped his heart and he closed his eyes in remembrance. "Lu Ten…"

"Be that as it may, Razeial is incredibly dangerous, having been trained personally by my brother and made into the Fire Lord's Supreme Guard. He, much like Raijin, has a special bending ability that makes him stand out from all firebenders."

"That's for sure," Mai muttered. "His fire makes Azula's look like an ember."

"Many years ago, my brother was experimented on like myself and was given the 'essence' of a firebender whereas I was given that of a waterbender. Because of that his strength and firebending – something that he was already excelling at – improved tenfold. He creates what he calls _Jouten_, Heavenly Fire given to him by Agni. It is stronger than any other fire I've ever encountered and I am unable to absorb it like I do other heat. And this doesn't even take into account his skills with a qiang."

"A qiang?" Pakku asked.

Piandao answered. "A type of spear that has been used in many years."

Raijin looked over at Ty Lee tiredly. She was slightly hunched over and her face was hidden behind her hands. "Do you understand why now, Ty Lee?"

The pink clad girl said nothing but glared at Raijin and stormed out of the room, slamming the door in her wake.

Raijin sighed and rose to follow her. "Ty Lee,"

Mai cut him off, her palm resting firmly against his chest. "I'll take care of her. Come and talk to her later once she's calmed down a bit. Unless you don't want to move for the next few days."

Raijin frowned but relented. "Thank you, Mai."

The gothic girl shrugged and stalked out of the room in search of her best friend.

"Since they will be preoccupied for quite some time, perhaps you would like to have some tea with me, Raijin." Iroh asked kindly. Raijin knew that despite the old man's kind tone it was not a request.

"Of course," he nodded.

Pakku stood from the table. "I believe that I will go and hurry the ship along some more. I wish to reach camp before nightfall."

Bumi looked over at Piandao. "Pai Sho or nap?"

The swordsman scratched his beard. "An important decision indeed. Perhaps we should eat before deciding."

Bumi cackled. "I love the way you think, Piandao. Let's go,"

Within moments the war room was empty and silent again.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Raijin followed Iroh silently as they headed towards the ex-general's private room. His face revealed nothing but his mind was racing a mile a minute. Ideas, doubts, and all their like bounced about his head madly. As they reached the door, Raijin mentally steeled himself. _I have to tell him, he deserves to know._

Iroh pushed the door open easily and stepped inside, Raijin following close behind. Iroh shut the door and gestured to the younger man to sit at a small table that held an empty tea pot and a Pai Sho board.

Once they were both settled and Iroh had prepared a pit of tea, they began to talk. Unsurprisingly, it was Iroh who began. "Raijin, I have known you for many years and I must admit that I am concerned about you."

Raijin cocked an eyebrow slightly but said nothing. Iroh continued. "I understand your feelings towards you family, and even those towards my own. I, too, have experienced similar feelings towards the Earth Kingdom after Lu Ten's death. But, I do not believe that this is your destined path. We will need your help to take back Ba Sing Se; it is why we freed you."

Raijin opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then opened it again and spoke. "Iroh, I appreciate your help in freeing me, I really do, but I'm not going to help you take over some Earth Kingdom city that means nothing to me. This entire war, right now, means nothing to me. I am driven by vengeance only right now."

Iroh looked slightly taken aback. "Driven by vengeance? You have barely changed since I last you! You cannot have changed that much."

Raijin chuckled slightly. "Iroh, I've changed a lot more than you can guess. I struggled everyday in that prison to keep my personality as it was; I don't want to be some freakish psychopath. But trust me when I say that under this clam and relaxed personality is someone who will do _anything_ to get what he wants."

Iroh said nothing. Raijin continued, "I will continue with my plans to kill my family as well as the royal family, excluding Zuko…he is good now, right?"

Iroh dragged a hand across his face and suddenly looked much older. "Zuko…was very confused when I last saw him. He was blind to his path and had made many poor decisions…including siding with his sister at Ba Sing Se. However, I have talked to Mai and she has told me that Zuko has recently joined the Avatar."

Raijin nodded absentmindedly. "Good, good."

There was a moment of silence. Iroh took a long sip on his tea, draining the cup. He peered over it at the younger man. "Are you sure there is nothing I can do to persuade you to join the siege on Ba Sing Se? I am positive that this is not your destined path."

Raijin drained his cup as well, setting it on the table before responding. "And what is my 'destined path', Iroh?"

"I do not know the exact route of your path. However, I _do_ know that it is not your destiny to defeat my brother, as that responsibility belongs to the Avatar. It is also not your destiny to defeat Azula, I believe that is destiny of Zuko."

Raijin sighed. "Of course it isn't. Just like it truly isn't my duty to kill my brother."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Raijin shook his head sadly, his eye suddenly looking much older than it should. "No, Iroh, that duty belongs to you alone."

"Me?" the older man exclaimed. "Why would I desire to kill your brother?"

"Simple," Raijin muttered with his eye distant. "He's the one who killed your son."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Mai found Ty Lee easily enough. The girl had stormed from the war room up to the very top of the deck, letting the cool air ruffle her hair and light ocean mist dust her face. Here normally bright eyes were distant and glazed over in thought, still slightly tinged with red from her tears.

Mai stood next to the younger girl silently. Ty Lee was usually never silent about her problems for too long. Being the extrovert that she was, she would always search out Azula or Mai in the past to talk.

Not more than a minute later Ty Lee spoke, eyes still staring out at the ocean. "How can he be so cold, Mai? How can he talk about killing people he's known all his life like it was nothing? He's changed so much…and at the same time he hasn't."

"You're right, he has changed. We all have changed over the years, Ty Lee. He hasn't said much of it but I think Raijin was a lot worse off in that prison then he let on. We struggled there a bit and we were only there for a few days. Raijin was there for _five_ years."

"That doesn't explain why he wants to kill everyone."

Mai sighed. "What do you think Azula would have done to me if you hadn't stepped in? She would have burnt me alive. I can only imagine what Raijin has gone through with Azula visiting him over the years, offering him freedom only to be her slave."

"But Azula…" Ty Lee trailed off, looking for the right words.

Mai snorted. "Is a monster, just as her own mother said. I have no doubt that she will want both of us killed on sight now, Ty Lee. You need to lower from the pedestal that you've placed her on for so long. Azula isn't perfect."

Ty Lee rubbed at her face, feeling much older than her soon to be sixteen.

Mai continued. "On top of that, Raijin was placed in that prison by his own family so I can understand why he wants them dead easily enough. And if he wants true freedom then he has to kill the Fire Lord too."

"When did it become so necessary to kill, Mai?" Ty Lee muttered and slumped to the ground, clutching her knees to her chest. She looked up in surprise when she felt a delicate hand rest on her shoulder and squeeze it gently. She looked up at Mai who kept looking out at the ocean.

"Its been this way for nearly a hundred years, Ty. Ever since this horrible war started; but don't worry, in a few days the war will be over."

The pink clad girl blinked. "It will?"

Mai felt a frown form on her face as unease welled up inside of her. "Yes. All that remains is to see who the winner is, the Fire Nation…or us."

The two girls remained silent for a long time.

Finally, Ty Lee rolled backwards into a handstand and flipped to her feet, grinning widely. "Well, if that's how things are going to be we'd better get ready! You still need new holsters for your senbon."

Mai glanced at her bare arms with a scowl. "That's right, and there's only one place we can go to get them."

Ty Lee nodded happily. "The Royal Fire Academy for Girls!"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Iroh stared at Raijin in disbelief. "W-what are you saying?"

Raijin sighed. He had expected a reaction similar to this. "My brother murdered your son, Iroh."

The older man's eyes hardened and grew dark. Despite himself, Raijin suddenly felt like a small child standing next to a fiery god. "Explain now," Iroh barked.

"It was about two years ago now," the eye patch wearer began. "I was going through a rather…difficult time at the prison when my brother visited. At first it was nothing out of the ordinary: taunts, slaps, a couple punches here and there. After awhile I think he finally noticed how broken my spirit was at that time. I can only assume that he though to break me completely with what he said next."

**xxxxx – Begin Flashback**

"_You look so beaten and betrayed right now, Cero. So much like Lu Ten that it makes me feel ill."_

_Raijin snapped his head up, silver eye burning. "What did you say?" he hissed._

_Razeial chuckled lightly. "You look like Lu Ten right before I killed him. The two of us had become separated from out squad by some earthbender. He looked so confused when I stabbed him in the back."_

"_You did…you mother–" Razeial silenced me with a strong fist to the gut._

"_Ah ah," he waggled his finger in front of my face. "What would mother say about that language? As for Lu Ten, it really was unfortunate that I had to kill him. He was one of the few people who's company I actually enjoyed. But if Iroh was to be defeated at Ba Sing Se and father to be promoted."_

_Raijin began to tremble with anger. "Y-you murdered the person who I idolized so that our father could be promoted?!"_

"_Yes, we did. Iroh, as predicted by father, fell into a state of depression and failed in his conquest. Unfortunately, father was not promoted quickly enough and the Fire Nation was pulled out of Ba Sing Se."_

"_Lu Ten died for nothing then?!"_

_Razeial looked at his brother coldly. "Yes, he death was for nothing. No heroics, no promotions…entirely meaningless." Razeial slammed his fist into his brother's throat, making him gag and choke._

"_Until next time, little brother." Razeial walked out of the prison cell with a smirk on his face, listening to the sounds of his brother's choking tears._

**xxxxx – End Flashback**

Raijin ended his tale, hands subconsciously clenched into fists. "You can see why I believe it your right to kill my brother rather than myself."

Iroh said nothing but allowed his head to slump into his trembling hands.

Raijin stood from the table and began to walk towards the door. He paused as he passed Iroh and spoke softly.

"I will give you this time alone to grieve and plan. A day after we reach our destination I plan on setting out for Ember Island so that I can get my swords from my family's old beach house. I would appreciate an answer before I go, Iroh. If you wish to kill my brother for vengeance for your son I will not get in your way. However, you must leave my father alone; he is mine to kill and no others."

Raijin glanced down at the suddenly frail old man, tears dripping nosily into his thick gray beard. Raijin felt his stomach grow heavy and his eye burn. "You cannot imagine the amount of sympathy I have for you, Iroh. I looked upon your son as if _he_ were my older brother; he was my idol. I miss him everyday, Iroh."

A blazing look consumed Raijin's silver eye. "And rest assured, regardless of your decision, my brother will burn for this!"

A voice cut in over the intercom system, basically a system of really long, echoing pipes that ran from the control room to the rest of the ship. "We have arrived at the campsite. Prepare to dock shortly,"

Raijin glanced down at Iroh. "Tell them I will be up shortly," the old man muttered.

"Of course, take your time." And Raijin left the room without another word.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Miles and miles away, a tall man with perfectly straight black hair tied in a high ponytail sneezed uncontrollably.

The Fire Lord glanced behind him. "Are you alright, Razeial?"

Razeial, Raijin's older brother, rubbed at his nose slightly. "Of course, my lord; I am fine,"

Ozai grinned. "Excellent," he motioned to a guardsmen near the door. "Bring in the prisoner."

The armored guard bowed quickly and disappeared out the door only to reappear moments later with two other guards, forcefully shoving a bound prisoner to the Fire Lord and his Supreme Guard. On the last shove, the prisoner's legs became tangled and he fell before the most powerful ruler in the world.

Ozai looked down with disgust at the former Baron, Seipher.

"Well, Seipher, what do you have to say for yourself? Not only did you allow two prisoners that were personally placed in Kurosaka by my daughter to escape but you also allowed one of the most dangerous threats to my rule to escape as well. And on top of that, you abandoned you post and fled into hiding…though you were found within a day by Miss June and her Shirsu."

Seipher said nothing, his body trembling to fiercely to do anything.

"Nothing to say?" Ozai asked. "Very well. You shall be executed tomorrow at high noon before a mass crowd, including all of my generals. You will be used as an example of what happens to those that fail so miserably in their service to the Fire Nation."

"Y-you can't do this to me!" Seipher roared. Apparently, the thought of death had loosened his tongue.

Ozai didn't spare him so much as a glance. "Guards, take him to his cell. I must meet with my generals again. Come Razeial,"

The two turned away from the disgraced Baron and began to leave the room. Rage clouding his normally quick mind, Seipher summoned a storm of flames from his open mouth. His eyes danced wildly as they soared towards the Fire Lord's defenseless back…

Before they were quickly dispersed with a decisive burst of golden flames.

Seipher's jaw hung open. "Wha?"

Razeial glared down at the bound prisoner coldly. "Do you honestly think I would allow such an insignificant attack to reach the Fire Lord? My lord, if I may…?"

Ozai glanced back at Razeial and then Seipher. "Very well, just make sure not to burn anything important."

"Of course," Razeial stared down Seipher darkly, no emotion on his face whatsoever. "You should feel most honored. You shall be one of the select few to be killed by my _Jouten_."

"Your what?"

A small smirk wormed its way onto Razeial's face. "Jouten, my Heavenly Fire. A gift granted to me, alone, from the Fire God Agni himself. Prepare to be burnt by the flames of God!"

The last thing Seipher saw was a burst of heavenly gold.

* * *

Explanations about...

The Title: The title refers the 'bombshell' that Raijin dropped on Iroh, i.e. the true reason for Lu Ten's death.

Ty Lee's reaction: I believe that Ty Lee would react very strongly to the thought of Azula dying as she places her on a pedestal throughout the series.

Jouten: The Jouten is the balance to Raijin's Zero Fire.

Wooo! Done and done! Despite the lack of action a lot of storyline progress happened this chapter. Razeial was introduced, Lu Ten's death is explained, and Mai and Ty Lee have a heart-to-heart and talk a bit about Raijin.

Expect next chapter to be a lot more lighthearted and maybe a little action thrown in. I'll try and have it up before I head back up to Canada next Friday if I get 10 reviews, but with college in full swing I make no promises.


	7. Scarred Reflections

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Blah. It's been way too long since my last update and I apologize. What with college back in full swing and athletics going on I just haven't had time to get all my homework done, let alone write thing. On top of that, I've lost the Avatar bug that was constantly in my ear to write this. Now by no means does this mean that I intend to leave this story but I have a feeling it won't be as easy to write as before. At least not until I pick up Seasons two and three on DVD! So, without further ado…

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7: Scarred Reflection

* * *

Raijin walked soundlessly off the ship, his shadow dancing in the silver moonlight, and the smell of the sea assaulting his nose. A soft breeze ruffled his clothes slightly as he followed Piandao and Bumi to the tents, the girls not more than a step behind him.

"Well, here we are," Bumi cackled. "Old people camp!"

"Raijin, you will be in this tent here," Piandao waved a hand at a small tent beside him. "And you ladies shall be in a tent just a bit further down the row. Please follow me,"

Raijin entered his tent and looked around. The furnishings were scarce – a spare throw rug, basic bedding, a tea set and small stove, and unsurprisingly, a pai shō set – but he would be able to manage quite easily. _Prison was much less accommodating than this,_ Raijin noted.

Raijin stretched and removed his shirt, tossing it on the ground as he started to prepare for bed. Not more than three seconds later, Ty Lee burst through the cloth doorway. "Rai, we need to…" she took in Raijin's mild state of undress. True, she had seen him in less at Kurosaka but he had been covered in layers of dirt and grime with his face hidden behind an untamed mane of hair. But now all that was gone. Her face flared red she finished her thought. "…talk."

Raijin cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "You know, generally it's more polite to knock before entering. I mean, what if I had been naked?"

If possible Ty Lee's face grew even redder as she tried to stutter out an answer. Raijin laughed, relishing in the feeling. "Its fine, Ty Lee. Come on in,"

He turned around and bent down and plucked his shirt from the ground. He heard Ty Lee gasp slightly. "Rai, you're back!"

"Huh? What's wrong with it?" He craned his neck to look at it but quickly gave that up as a bad job. "Is there something wrong with it?"

The acrobatic girl shook her head, her blush fading as she became more comfortable. Clothed or not, Raijin was still Raijin and one of her oldest friends. "Not really, it's just those cuts on your back from that monster we fought in prison."

"Oh," Raijin relaxed slightly and sat on the bed. "What about them?"

"They look a little infected. Do you want me to look at them?"

"Didn't know you were an acrobat and a doctor all rolled into one." He chuckled again. "But yeah, it would probably be for the best. Don't suppose you know where a med kit is though, do you?"

The girl shook her head and shrugged. "I don't need one though. I've had more than enough practice patching myself, Mai, and Azula after our fights, so I've learned to carry a little one where ever I go." The girl pulled out a small box from her pocket and walked around to the other side of the bed, kneeling behind Raijin. "Now let's see here,"

She ran her fingers over the three gashes slightly. The area around the cuts had bruised to a pale mix of yellow and green, which was good, but the cuts themselves were tinged with the milky white color that suggest infection. The infections did not look to deep though so it wasn't much to worry about.

"So," Raijin prodded. "What was it you wanted to talk about before?"

"Oh," Ty Lee quickly withdrew her hands and fumbled with the tiny latch on her medical box. "I wanted to talk about earlier, on the ship."

Raijin remained silent, waiting for her to begin. She pulled a small jar of ointment from the med box. Dipping her fingers in the cool cream she began to talk. "I wanted to apologize about how I acted then."

Raijin hissed when her fingers made contact with the cuts. "Sting?"

He shook his head. "Nah, whatever you're putting on it is just cold."

She smiled slightly. "Sorry about that,"

"Don't worry about it, or about the ship thing. I know that Azula's your friend and I shouldn't have said that if front of you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she carefully massaged the ointment into the cuts. "You were just being honest…and you're probably right."

Ty Lee felt his tense under her fingertips. "I am?" he asked.

"Me and Mai had a talk while you were with General Iroh. A long time ago, back when the three of us were in the Academy, Azula was one of our closest friends. But after the Academy we all went our separate ways and we started to drift apart more and more. When we met again Azula had…changed. Her aura was more malevolent and dark." Raijin snorted softly. "Okay, dark_er_ than before.

"Instead of being satisfied with being the leader of us, she began to want more. She began to treat us more like soldier than friends…and it hurt. It hurt a lot." She wiped her slightly damp eyes with her free hand.

"Ty…" Raijin mumbled softly.

"She took me away from the circus, one of the few places that ever felt like a real home to me. I wanted to refuse, I actually did at the beginning, but Azula has ways to influence people into doing what she wants. You seem to be one of the few people that never do what she wants."

Raijin laughed lowly. "Well that's simple," he said. "Azula _always_ lies. I'd trust my brother before I trust her."

Ty Lee sniffed a bit and giggled slightly. "You sure that has nothing to do with her stalking you for a few years?"

Raijin shrugged. "Okay, so she's a creeper too. Even more reason to never trust her."

Ty Lee wiped her hands on her leggings and pulled a small wrap of white cloth from the med box. Gingerly she began to wrap the gauze around her friend's torso, covering up the wounds. She worked quickly and silently, holding the end of the gauze in place with tight knot. Finished with her work she allowed her eyes scan Raijin for any more injuries.

It was then that it really hit her how many scars her old friend had. They were faint, yes, but the thin white lines weaved all across his body like a roughly put together jigsaw puzzle. As if they had a conscious of their own, her fingers slowly began to trace over the scars softly.

"I must look like a real piece of work, huh?" Raijin asked.

Ty Lee was startled out of her thoughts and she withdrew her hands quickly. "Um…well," she stumbled over her words.

Raijin chuckled. "Its fine, Ty Lee, I know I look like someone played a dozen games of tic-tac-toe on my body."

"Well, yeah," the girl mumbled. A thought stuck her. "Rai, how did you manage to survive so many cuts without dying?"

Raijin's body tensed and his hands closed into fists. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again and took a shallow breath. He tried again, "My first few months in Kurosaka were absolute nightmares. I was thirteen and I was forced to kill so many people…" he trailed off and took another breath. "But I could deal with that. They were Fire Nation prisoners at first; they deserved to be there: mass murders, sociopaths, rapists, and the like. I could kill them and be okay with it. But…"

"But what, Rai?" Ty Lee asked, gently prodding him along.

"But then they had me fight a prisoner from the Water Tribes. She had done nothing wrong; it was war and her group had attacked Fire Nation ships near the North Pole. They were defending their home…but they were defeated. The men were killed in battle and she was brought to Kurosaka.

"We fought and, though she was no match for me and we both knew it, she fought with a tenacity of a wild breast. Regardless, I defeated her…but I spared her life, and I suffered for it. Seipher had be lashed thirty times with whips and beaten senseless. I shouldn't have been able to move for days afterwards."

"Rai," Ty Lee gasped. "I-I had no idea that it was so bad."

He smirked sadly, "It's the worst prison in the world for a reason, Ty."

"What, um," Ty Lee grew frustrated with herself. She never had trouble speaking! "What happened after that?"

"I was just lying in my cell. I could barely move at all and my body looked like it had been ripped to ribbons. But them I felt this wonderful sensation across my back and the pain began to fade. When I opened my eyes I saw that the normal darkness of the room had been vanquished by a soft blue glow." Raijin chuckled lightly. "And then I realized the smell."

"What?" Ty Lee asked, clearly confused.

"You've fought a strong waterbender before, haven't you Ty? Waterbenders can heal people with their bending…and the same waterbender who I refused to kill was in the cell next to mine. She was healing me." Raijin smiled at the memory.

"But where'd she get the water? I doubt the guards would just give her a cup of water and then leave."

Raijin smirked. "Who said anything about it being water?"

Ty Lee's brow wrinkled. "Huh?"

"It was sweat. She healed my wounds using her own sweat. The prison walls were a bit shoddy back then and there were a few cracks, not a lot but enough for her to bend liquid through. She worked up a good sweat and wove it through the cracks to heal me."

Realization flooded the acrobat's face. "That's what you meant by the smell! But why did she heal you?"

"She wanted to thank me." Raijin said quietly, eye glazed slightly in memory. "I'd spared her life and she was grateful for that. She told me about herself, her tribe, her family. Her name was Kira."

Ty Lee saw that Raijin's aura, normally a twisting mix of navy and silver, had drained to a dark gray. "Like a raincloud," Ty Lee mumbled. Raijin didn't hear her. Shaking her head, she gently pressed her friend on in his story.

"We grew close after she saved my life. I taught her to fight the best I could; kind of hard to teach someone when you can only hear them. By this time in the prison I was already fighting my father's monsters in the Pit while Kira struggled on against other prisoners. I don't know where she kept finding the strength but she always remained hopeful and strong, never doubting herself."

Ty Lee saw the older teen's aura flare brightly, now a malevolent black. She reared away from him in shock. Raijin took no notice as his hands clenched into fists.

"I don't know how," he started. "But Seipher found out that we were close. And when my father's next beast came, it wasn't me who he sent to face it." He growled.

Ty Lee gasped. "You don't mean…"

"I was pulled from my cell and thrown into the Pit just in time to see the monster swallow her intestines."

Raijin absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair, fists relaxing slightly. "I lost control completely. I incinerated the damn beast in a matter of seconds. Before I could even begin to go after Seipher I got put down with six arrows, each blunt with a metal weight on the tip. Woke up chained in my cell a few hours later."

"R-rai…"

He waved her off, his aura descending back down from the sinister black to a pale green, and turned to face her. "Its okay, Ty. I hurt for a long time after that and I doubt I'll ever get completely over it but I can manage. I'll be fin–ugh!" Raijin felt his breath leave him in a rush as Ty Lee slammed into him, clutching his body to hers in a death grip. He numbly patted her back gently.

"T-ty…" Raijin mumbled shock and confused.

"You're not alright." She muttered against his chest.

"What?"

"You are not alright, I can tell. You're aura…it was so sad and dark. You've got so much guilt and sadness inside you and its poisoning you, Rai. It's scarier than anything I've ever seen come from Azula's aura. It's changing you, making you dark and sick, like a disease." She visibly shook against his chest as she spoke.

"I know, Ty. I know that it's dark and its evil and it's wrong." He patted the top of her head lightly, as though she were a child. "But it's what I need to get me through this war. I'm not the same boy you used to know, Ty. I've changed and not all of it has been for the better. I…I have so much hate, so much rage, locked up inside of me that I can barely contain it sometimes."

Raijin paused and looked down at her smaller frame still crushed against his. Delicately he pulled her away from his chest – which he suddenly remembered was bare causing him to blush for a moment – and forced her to look into his eye.

"Ty, I need this feeling, this darkness right now. I'll need it when I face my brother and my father, when I face Ozai and Azula. I'll need every bit of hate and violence I can muster until everything is all over. And once every this is done then I'll let it all go. Until then, I just have to suffer through it."

Her chocolate eyes stared into his lone silver eye. "Do you understand?"

She shook her head. "No, I really don't but I trust you, Rai. I trust you to do what you think is best."

He smiled down at her. "You have no idea how much it means to me to hear someone say that, Ty."

She smiled brightly at him watching her own neon pink aura glow next to his silver and navy swirls. She pulled him into another strong embrace though this time she also remembered that he was bare-chested as her face burnt scarlet.

"Am I interrupting something?" Mai's monotone voice asked from the doorway.

Startled, Ty Lee and Raijin broke apart hastily. Raijin is his surprise and haste to get away lost his balance and flipped backwards off the bed. Grumbling to himself, he sat up from the floor and looked over the side of the bed at Mai, noting that Ty Lee had managed to spring from the bed to atop the tents wooden dresser.

Raijin blinked at her as he pushed himself to his feet. "I don't even want to know how you did that." Shaking his head, he snatched his vest off of the ground and slid it back on, casually talking to Mai as he did so. "What's up?"

"We need to go over our plans for tomorrow." She told him. "All the old guys aren't doing a whole lot tomorrow so it'd be a good time for us to take care of our own business."

"Sounds good. What did you have in mind?"

Mai ignored Ty Lee as she leapt from the dresser and rolled to her feet behind her. "Ty Lee and I will be returning to the Fire Nation Academy for Girls on Ember Island so that I can get new senbon holders from our old teacher. What about you?"

Raijin rubbed his chin for a moment. "I'm heading the same way as you two. I need to stop at Ember Island, break into my family's beach house, and steal back my swords."

Ty Lee flipped to her feet from a handstand easily. "Your swords are at your beach house?"

"Yeah, I had them sent out there right after I was arrested. Always pays to have the servants like you more than your father."

"So it's settled then; we'll all head to Ember Island tomorrow to recover our weapons. I'll go inform General Iroh now. I would suggest you get some sleep."

Raijin mock saluted. "Yes mam."

Mai turned to face the pink clad acrobat. "Let's go, Ty Lee,"

Mai pushed the cloth doorway open and disappeared into the night. Ty Lee stopped at the doorway and opened her mouth but shut it quickly.

Raijin raised an eyebrow briefly before shaking his head. "Goodnight Ty Lee,"

"Night Rai," she said and followed Mai into the darkness.

Raijin watched her go before walking over the dresser and shuffling through it. If he was heading back to the Fire Nation his Earth Kingdom clothes weren't gonna cut it. After a few minutes he came across something.

"…this will work. Stealthy, Fire Nation red, and will go with my sword sheaths. Tomorrow is going to be quite a day."

* * *

Explanations about...

The Title: The title refers to Raijin's scars and the reflection on his past.

Okay, I fail at life. Not only did I not post quickly at all but this chapter totally took on a life of its own. Originally, the conversation between Ty Lee and Raijin was supposed to be relatively short and the chapter would get them to their adventures on Ember Island. But, as you can see, it took on a life of its own and ended up taking over most of the chapter.

Oh well, since I haven't got to the action yet I figure I'll give you the title of the next chapter.

**Chapter 8: Return/Resurrection of the Blue Spirit.**

I haven't decided on return or resurrection yet. Hopefully I've have that up by the end of the month but I'm not going to make any promises. Now then, please **read** and **review** so I know if I'm doing well, okay? Thanks!


	8. The Return of the Blue Spirit

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8: The Return of the Blue Spirit

* * *

Twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes had passed with him sitting outside in the just-rising sun, not a companion in sight. Raijin scowled out at the ocean as if it were to blame for the girls' lateness. His sharp silver eye caught his reflection in the glimmering sunrise, mirroring his new outfit for him.

He had chosen a basic vest in the dull red color of the Fire Nation. It was secured by several stick-like buttons that cut down its middle and it was covered in faded black images of phoenixes, a popular Fire Nation creature. His pants were almost identical to those he had been given for travel in the Earth Kingdom; a solid black color that flowed loosely down over the upper area of his black boots, leaving only the foot of the boot to be seen. Each arm was adorned with a coil of thin black rope just above his biceps. Thrown carelessly over his shoulder was a dull cloak colored a mix of brown and red that would help him lurk in the darker corners of the Fire Nation cities without notice.

"If I ever get there," Raijin grumbled to himself as he skipped a rock through the water's reflection, distorting his image. "What in spirit's name is taking so long?"

Raijin heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see a smiling Iroh, two steaming cups of tea in his hand and a broad smile on his face. Raijin couldn't help but smile as Iroh held a cup out to him and sat down next to him on another rock.

"You seem upset," the older man began.

"More annoyed then upset; the girls are running behind schedule." Raijin said and took a sip of tea. "What flavor is this?"

"Dragonclover, it is all the rage in the Fire Nation this season." Iroh answered easily and took a quick sip of the tea, his eyes gazing out at the sea. "You seem very on edge, Raijin."

Raijin took another long sip of tea, savoring the flavor and gazing out at the ocean as he thought. "I guess I'm just anxious…or nervous. I don't really know."

Iroh remained silent as Raijin continued. "I mean, I spent almost a third of my life in that prison thinking of the vengeance I would get when I finally got out. I wanted to make all of them pay, make them suffer."

"Them?" Iroh asked though he felt he already knew the answer.

"My father, Azula, Ozai, my brother… you know, them." Raijin answered with a shrug as he took another sip of the hot tea, savoring the odd mix of citrus and spice. "This really is good."

"Indeed; they mix the dragonclover with the juice from a fire plum." Iroh explained. "It seems you doubt yourself now that you are free."

"A bit, yes," Raijin spoke. "Do you think I will be able to beat my brother in battle?"

"No," Iroh answered almost immediately. "Your brother may very well be the strongest bender on the planet. He can best my brother and from what I have seen from the Avatar…" Iroh trailed off.

Raijin's body visibly slumped as he gazed at the massive ocean before him. "He's gotten that much more powerful then?"

"Yes, and with your father directing his movements he has no weaknesses. Between the two of them they are incredibly powerful. Your brother is the body: strong, quick, and absurdly powerful, but your father is the mind: smart, quick reacting, patient, cunning, and completely ruthless." Iroh took another sip of the tea, finishing his cup. "I do not blame you for wanting vengeance on them. They have dishonored you greatly, Raijin."

"I don't know how just yet but I will get my revenge…and Lu Ten's as well." Raijin finished quietly.

Iroh felt the familiar ache of loss grasp at his heart, like someone was squeezing it in their fist. He fought the pain off quickly though and turned to face the young man before him. "I have no doubt of that. You have still managed to grow into a man that your mother would have been proud of, Raijin. You have faced every obstacle life has set before you and broken each of them down. You have grown into a powerful man, Raijin, and I am very proud of you…and I know Lu Ten would have been as well."

Raijin's eye instantly turned to lock onto the older man's. "You really think so?" he asked quietly.

"Of course," Iroh smiled as he stood and collected the empty tea cups. "Why else do you think I left you with some of Lu Ten's old clothing?"

Raijin's mouth went dry and his throat closed up as Iroh walked away back toward the tents. He mumbled as loudly as his voice would let him. "Thank you, Iroh,"

Iroh simply kept on walking and passed into one tent. Ty Lee and Mai sat in chairs across from each other, looking up at Iroh.

He nodded with a smile. "I believe that he will be ready now."

Ty Lee shot the older man a thousand watt grin and grabbed him in a quick hug before dashing out of the tent to see Raijin. Mai stood as well but stopped at the tent's exit. Iroh glanced back at her curiously. "Yes Mai?"

"Thank you for talking to him…he needed it. Raijin has always been conflicted, even when we were younger."

Iroh nodded. "It was my pleasure, Mai. Please watch out for him…he is similar to Zuko in the way that they both struggle with right and wrong. They will both put up a strong front but they will sometimes struggle with following through with their decisions."

Mai nodded and left the tent without a word. Still, her heart clenched at _his_ name. _Zuko…_

***********

Ty Lee was grinning happily at Raijin, slowly rotating herself in a circle, when Mai exited from the tent. Evidently Ty Lee wanted to show off her new outfit. Mai rolled her eyes. _I don't get what the big deal is; it's only some new clothes._

Ty Lee had chosen an outfit similar to her last one, though almost no pink remained. Mai had made it very clear that pink was too easily noticeable in a crowd, especially when you were an escaped prison convict. Now she wore a tight sleeveless shirt in Fire Nation red that ended just after her bellybutton. Her wrists were adorned with decorative wraps around her wrists in varying shades of red. She had traded in her pants for shorts though they remained baggy and ended just above her kneecaps. Probably the largest change though was her hair; she had forgone her trademark braid and instead had styled it into a loose ponytail.

If Mai hadn't been able to recognize that wide grin and childlike gleam in her eye she may have mistook her for a stranger. Considering the fact that they had been friend childhood…well, the disguise was a good one at least.

Raijin's eye flashed from Ty Lee's twirling form over to Mai. "Mai, you look… almost exactly the same."

"I tried to get her to chose something more colorful but she wouldn't listen to me. We should just be happy she let me change her hair." Ty Lee said as she fell into a handstand position.

Raijin stared at her with a raised eyebrow as she started walking around for a moment before looking back to Mai's head. Her normal twin buns were gone, letting her silky black hair cascade down past her shoulders. "I do like the hair change…you think that will blend in well enough?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "It always did before I was prisoner. I don't see why it won't work now."

Raijin shrugged. "Alright then, let's head out. We're running behind as is. Iroh said we can take one of the smaller boats."

Ty Lee flipped to her feet with a grin. "Lead the way,"

* * *

Several long, _long_hours later, the trio's boat touched against the beach of the Ember Island just as the sky began to change from a navy to a solid black. Raijin crept silently from the boat in his cloak and quickly tied the boat to the dock. He glanced over as the girl's exited the ship. "You're sure no one will noticed this here?"

"Of course not." Mai said. "With the fire at the Fire Lord's beach house it would be normal that someone would sail over to see what happened."

Ty Lee picked up a rock from the ground and rubbed its smooth eroded surface. "I remember the last time we were here, especially that party." She giggled.

Raijin about jumped a foot in the air when he heard Mai begin to chuckle as well. "Yeah, that was a great party."

Raijin looked between the two laughing girls and shook his head. "Anything that can make Mai laugh," he mumbled. "Is something I just don't want to know about."

Plucking a nearby stick from the sandy beach Raijin quickly traced out a small outline of Ember Island in the sand. "Okay, we're here on the north edge of the island and your academy is in the very center of the island." He gestured to the places on his makeshift map with the stick. "My family's beach house is on the eastern edge of the island so we need to split up here. I figure if we leave now we can meet back here by dawn. What do you think?"

Raijin was met with two blank stares. "What?"

Mai looked down at the map. "Where did you learn to draw, a school for the blind?"

"She's right, Rai," Ty Lee added. "This map doesn't make any sense."

Raijin's eye twitched and he tossed the stick over his shoulder half-heartedly. "Master Piandao was able to teach me many things when I was his apprentice…but drawing wasn't one of them. Forget the map, do you to still get understand the plan?"

"Yes," Mai said exasperatedly. "You went over it with us, like, four times on the way here. We know what to do and where to go. We'll see you back here at dawn. Let's go, Ty Lee,"

The pale girl strode off into night, clearly not excited about the walk ahead of her. Ty Lee gave him a brief hug and a chipper "See you soon!" before dashing off after her friend.

Raijin watched the pair until the darkness covered them completely. "Alright," he said to himself. "Time to get to work."

It didn't take the prison escapee long to find an old trail that lead his family's beach home. The beach front cottage was fairly large, rivaling that of Fire Lord Ozai's own home away from home. Raijin scowled. As one of the Fire Lord's chief advisers, Raijin's father, Hanzo, had been able to buy this ridiculously overpriced cottage that he had never even visited to the best of Raijin's knowledge. What a waste.

Of course, that matter was irrelevant when Raijin's eye fell upon the home. "You've got to be joking,"

The cottage, which should have been dark and lifeless, was bright and lively with voices and lights. A giant bonfire gave light to the cottage's beachfront, giving Raijin an excellent view of the trash covering the beach and the docks. From the amount of boats that were there he figured that there could be anywhere from twenty to sixty guests…or home invaders, provided they had broken into the home.

Raijin sighed and snuck further into the darkness, drawing his cloak around him tightly. He really couldn't care less about the condition of the property itself but his swords were in there and his goal of obtaining them had just gotten considerably harder.

"I need a plan," Raijin mumbled aloud as he began to trek into the mainland. There was probably something in the shops that could help him sneak in…or at least create enough havoc to clear everyone out. He subconsciously pulled his hood down further as he passed small shop that seemed to still be open.

Sparing a quick glance inside, Raijin frowned when he saw it was a costume shop; apparently it was also a favorite shop of the Ember Island Players according to a large sign hanging from the wall. With a snort Raijin left the shop and continued on his way further inland.

Until he caught a familiar face out of the corner of his eye.

Posted to a short wall was a group of wanted posters, a small torch casting a soft glow on them. Many of them were now outdated but a few still looked relatively new. Obviously, the Avatar and his little gang were all there but what had caught Raijin's eye was the smiling face of Ty Lee staring back at him. He quickly scanned of the rest of the wall and, sure enough, he found a picture of Mai and himself.

A quick glance around, and with one innocent whistle and a blur of hands, the wanted posters had suddenly vanished. With a small smile Raijin began to walk again but suddenly stopped and frowned. "Wait a minute," he yanked out the wanted poster of himself and frowned. "They put the eye patch on the wrong eye! Man, I go to all that trouble to get out of prison and I don't even get a decent…hello." He trailed off as his eyes fell on another wanted poster, this one a few months older than his own.

Drawn down to the exact detail, a literal mirror of the real thing, was none other than the scourge of the Fire Nation – sans the Avatar of course – the Blue Spirit.

_What do I remember about him? _Raijin thought. _Blue outfit, very stealthy, hates the Fire Nation, saved the Avatar, excellent with swords…_

Raijin's head slowly swiveled from the poster back to the costume shop and back to the poster. A wide grin split his face. "I think its time that someone made a little comeback…"

* * *

Hours slid by as Ty Lee and Mai strode toward their former school. Despite both having been star pupils there in what seemed like a lifetime ago each of them still was a little nervous about actually getting there. Neither one of them were anxious to run into any of their old teachers.

At the time of graduation Miss Arez had still been able to render Ty Lee paralyzed and Miss Sezah would have pinned Mai to a wall before she could draw a single blade from her sleeves. And for as powerful as Azula was, Headmaster Lu was still considered to be one of the top Firebenders in the world behind only Ozai, Razeial, and possibly Iroh.

Granted over the few years it had been since the pair had graduated and their skills had grown incredibly, both girls knew what would happen if their former instructors found out about their defection from the Fire Nation.

Both silently prayed it would not come to that.

The pair was silent as they crept over the stone wall together. Mai was slightly surprised at Ty Lee's abnormal silence. The girl had barely spoken since they'd parted ways with Raijin. Yet at the same time she understood her friend's quiet. Ty Lee knew what was at stake here; when she had attacked Azula had been completely instinct. She hadn't thought about consequences then. Now they weighed heavily on her, and that was something not even the bubbly girl could shake off.

The Academy now loomed before them in all its glory. Standing just a hair smaller than the Fire Lord's own palace, it looked as immense as it had when they were still children. Dozens of torches hung from the walls and littered the expansive grounds where they had trained. Banners of the Fire Nation and the Academy's emblem – a flaming star – hung from the roofs.

It hadn't changed a bit…which meant that everything would be in the same place. Perfect.

Mai pulled Ty Lee further into the shadows cast by the outer wall of the Academy and spoke in a hushed voice. "Alright, everything seems the same so we just need to get into Miss Sezah's classroom in the East Corridor. She keeps her spare holsters in a locked cabinet there."

"Are we going to avoid the guards or should I take them out?" Ty Lee whispered back.

"We want to avoid them. We don't want anybody to know we're here." She glanced around making sure that there were no guards in sight. "Let's go,"

Making it past the guards was as simple as it had been back when they attended the Academy. Ducking in and out of the shadows, hiding in the darkness of empty hallways and classrooms…it was all old hat for the girls. Within minutes they stood outside the door to Miss Sezah's classroom where Mai would be able to steal replacement holsters for her senbon.

Ty Lee nearly jumped out her skin as a room further down the hall suddenly emitted the soft glow of a torch. Someone had just woken up.

The normally bubbly girl gave Mai a quick tap on the shoulder and quickly headed off to take care of the problem. Mai watched her for a moment before gently opening the door before her and sliding into the darkness of the room.

Knowing that she would have to first find the cabinet where the holsters were held and then pick the lock in near absolute darkness, Mai had thought ahead and brought a pair of Earth Kingdom spark rocks. Using the sparks emitted from the clashing stones to light her way, Mai made her way over to a large cabinet in a far corner of the room.

_Hmm, Miss Sezah must have gotten a new cabinet since we were last here. I've never seen this one before. _Mai thought to herself. Mai slammed the spark rocks together, trying to find the lock to the cabinet. She barely got a flicker from the stones.

She tried again and got the same results. "You have got to be joking," Mai sighed. "They stop working now of all times?"

"That is most unfortunate for you, my dear," a voice said in the darkness. Mai felt her body freeze up instantly as a simple snap of fingers ignited the few torches in the room.

Mai spun to look at her captor. It was an elderly man in dark crimson robes. His head was bald and his face was adorned with wrinkles and a long flowing white beard that reached down to his chest.

"Hello, Miss Mai. Perhaps you could inform me as to why you are trying to break into my robe closet?"

Before Mai could answer, Ty Lee entered the room followed by an older woman dressed in a form fitting red outfit and twin braided ponytails. Ty Lee's arms hung limply at her side and she looked incredibly nervous.

"They, uh, kinda changed the rooms around a bit, Mai." Ty Lee smiled weakly at her. "H-hey Headmaster Lu…have you let your beard grow out? It looks great!"

The Headmaster arched a white eyebrow. "I believe that you both have quite a lot of explaining to do, especially considering these." He gestured over to two large wanted posters that hung from the wall bearing the likenesses of Mai and Ty Lee.

* * *

"So…how do I look?"

Unable to do anything being bound and gagged on the floor, the shop owner settled for giving Raijin a blazing glare.

Raijin absentmindedly shifted the mask over his face as he spoke, "I'll take that as a 'good'. You know, I am sorry about this. I'd have paid for it but I don't exactly have a lot of money. I'm not a bad guy…sort of; kinda all depends on how your feel about the Fire Lord."

Glancing in a long mirror leaned up against a wall Raijin nodded. "Don't worry either. By some time tomorrow someone will have found you…and if not, well, I left a pocketknife in the back of the store."

One mocking salute later and the Blue Spirit had faded into the darkness of the night, reborn anew.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The beachfront home never even realized what hit it. One minute it was full of happy, half-inebriated Fire Nation politicians and priests and lords; a literal whose who of the Fire Nation, sans the Fire Lord and his highest ranking generals.

The next minute was chaos.

A man, lithe and silent dropped from the shadows of the ceiling corners into their midst. He was dressed in plain blue clothes with a matching demonic looking mask covering his face. The entire crowd froze upon his entrance, not out of shock but out of fear. This was a man who had single handedly laid siege to a Fire Nation stronghold under the control of Admiral Zhao and the Yu-Yan Archers.

The man before them had done the unthinkable, the improbable, the _impossible_. And he did it all _without _firebending. What chance did a collection of half-drunk nobles do to stop him?

Absolutely nothing.

The Blue Spirit did not even see it fitting to draw his infamous twin dao swords it seemed. It bobbed and weaved through the hysteric mass, half trying to escape the Blue Spirit and the other half rushing to slay him. The Blue Spirit dodged the punches easily, catching the weak punches in his palms before pivoting and hurling his attacker into a wall.

A small troop of priests quickly formed a wall before him, their movements practiced as they simultaneously shot a wall of flames at him. It would hold him at bay momentarily at the very least…

The priests nearly fainted when the flames vanished within seconds, leaving the Blue Spirit standing before them with his arms crossed lazily. Knees knocking together the priests turned tail and fled from the Blue Spirit like frightened children.

Raijin blinked behind the mask. "Well," he said as he glanced around the empty home. "That was easier than I thought. Now where did I hide those swords…? Oh, that's right!"

Raijin quickly raced up the stairs to the attic and began rapping his knuckles against the wooden walls. He grinned fiercely when he found a hollow board and slammed his fist through it. He tore the mask from his face with a flourish and yanked an object wrapped in cloth from inside the wall.

Raijin carefully unfolded the cloth covering the package to unveil a set of twin short swords. Their hilts were covered in crisscrossing black and red silk. The swords had no guards so that the hilt merged seamlessly to the sheath. Unsheathing the blades, Raijin revealed that the blades themselves were made of polished shining steel and sharpened beautifully. Sitting next to the swords were a specialized harness that was designed to hold both swords, one slanting down from the right shoulder and the other resting on his left hip.

Throwing the harness on and placing the swords in their position, Raijin quickly left his old home. He began to head towards the meeting point with the girls but paused about twenty feet away from the home. A dark scowl came over his face and he felt the fire he had absorbed from the priests earlier surge inside him.

He thought of his father and brother, living a good life in direct contact with the Fire Lord, the most powerful man on the planet, while he rotted in jail for something his father had done. He thought of Azula mocking him in his stay at Kurosaka. He thought of Kira being murdered by Seipher in the Pit. And he thought of Zuko, betraying the family that had always stood steadfast behind him.

With a snarl Raijin released the most powerful burst of zero fire he'd ever created at his father's expensive vacation home. Raijin did not look back once as it burned ebony and collapsed to the ground.

* * *

"Uh…yeah," Ty Lee stumbled over her words as she glanced at the wanted posters. "Well you see…"

"We were framed." Mai intoned.

"Exactly!" Ty Lee exclaimed, though she found it hard to express her feelings being unable to move her arms properly. "It was all Azula's fault."

"Was it now?" Headmaster Lu asked as he walked from his robe closet to a large wooden desk and sat behind it. He gestured for Mai and Ty Lee to sit on the chairs before his desk as well.

"Headmaster," the woman who had captured Ty Lee, Miss Arez, spoke in an annoyed tone. "You cannot be considering listening to their nonsense!"

Arez looked like she was prepared to continue but froze at the Headmaster's glare. "There are two sides to every story, just as there are two sides to every battle Miss Arez. I will deal with the girls from here. You may return to bed now."

Again, Arez looked like she wanted to protest but backed down at Headmaster Lu's stony gaze. With a final glare at the girls, she stormed out of the room and into the darkness of the hallway.

Headmaster Lu chuckled lightly at her departure. "Even now it surprises me how different you two are from your teachers. If I did not know better I would say that you had trained under one another's instructor."

That was true enough. While Miss Arez was very cruel and calculating, especially in her martial art expertise of chi blocking, Miss Sezah was so similar to Ty Lee that it was frightening. It had been one of the few things that Mai had hated about the Academy.

"Now then girls, I believe that you were going to tell me how Azula managed to turn the two of you, her best friends in my entire academy, into Fire Nation traitors?"

Mai and Ty Lee glanced at one another nervously. "It all began at the Boiling Rock prison…" Ty Lee began before the Headmaster interrupted her.

"I see! Well that would explain everything then, wouldn't it? Miss Mai, I believe that these," he produced four senbon holsters – two for her wrists and two more for her shins – from a drawing in his desk. "are what you came here for?"

Mai, as unflappable as she was, was shocked for a moment. "Um, yes Headmaster. Thank you,"

Headmaster Lu clapped his hands together and stood from his desk as the girl quickly mirrored him. "Well then, if that is all I would suggest that the two of you get back home now. I would hate for your parents to be worried. Ah yes," he added as an afterthought and quickly jabbed Ty Lee's arms.

Ty Lee blinked up at him in surprise as she the numbness lift from her limbs. "Headmaster…"

Lu simply stroked his beard. "Just my way of saying thanks for the compliment, Ty Lee."

Mai, who had taken the time to fasten her holsters back on, gazed at her former Headmaster. "You didn't hear our story and you are trying to rush us out of here…why?"

The old man cracked a wide grin as he ushered the two girls towards a window. He unlocked it and pushed the shutters open as a stream of cool night air flowed into the room. He gestured towards the open window with a smile and pulled something from a deep pocket of his crimson robe. "You are never as alone as you think, Mai."

He gently took Mai's hand and placed the item into her fist. "I would suggest you go now and remember to stick to the shadows."

Mai nodded and glanced at the object in Lu had placed in her hand. She wasn't too surprised to see that it was a Pai Sho tile – a White Lotus tile to be exact. With her lips just barely upturned she leapt out the window. Ty Lee followed her after giving the Headmaster a quick hug of thanks.

* * *

Raijin was waiting for the girls in the fading darkness when they arrived. Ty Lee shot him a wide grin when she saw the swords strapped to him. "You look almost like you used to now, except for the eye patch…and the scars…and you have some stubble now."

Mai glanced at him. "Did you run into any problems?"

Raijin looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope, just a quick in-and-out job. Did you guys have any problems?

Mai flicked the White Lotus tile at him with a blank expression. "No. They went better than expected. Let's get on the boat, Ty Lee. We've got a _long_ trip back to the camp."

Raijin stared blankly at the tile resting in his hands. "W-wait! What the heck is this thing? What am I supposed to do with this? Mai!"

* * *

Explanations about...

The Headmaster: Well, I can really explain him…he just sort of happened. Originally, Sezah and Arez we're going to fight against Mai and Ty Lee until Headmaster Lu would knock out both teachers. Then, as the chapter grew longer and longer, I scrapped the idea for a more interesting and quicker one instead of a drawn out fight scene. In the end I am happier with my decision.

…I can think of anything else that needs to be explained so just ask in a review. Also, I apologize greatly for the super slow update process. It won't happen again. To make up for it, I decided to turn this into a double length chapter!


	9. Reunions, Part 1

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Well, the moment everyone has been waiting for is here. It is time for a convergence point! This is also the hardest chapter to write up to this point. It is the only chapter that I wrote and then decided to trash it and start from scratch again, and again, and again. Six total rewrites…blah.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Reunions, Part 1**

* * *

They had been flying for hours, following that accursed beast and her half mad owner. They were tired, they were hungry. It was dark and they were in no mood to go searching for a lone man in the largest city in the world.

"It's been a long day," Zuko spoke to the group. "Let's rest here and we'll start searching at dawn."

A chorus of nods and agreements answered him. Sokka, Zuko, and Katara quickly unpacked Appa while Suki and Toph scanned for anything dangerous. Toph could not sense vibrations from anything larger than Momo and Suki reported that the skies were clear.

Within minutes, each of them was completely comatose in slumber. Even Toph, with her bizarre method of sight, was too exhausted to note the faint trace of footsteps from the ridge of stones that they were settled next to.

It had taken her quite a while, but Toph had trained herself to still sense the vibrations in the earth around her as she slept. The difficult part had been training herself to not wake up at every vibration, but to only wake at the ones who held the possibility of a threat. She managed to get to the point where the scurrying of a mongoose-skunk wouldn't wake her but anything that weighed heavier than that would.

So it was natural when she bolted awake the moment she felt four solid vibrations surrounding their encampment. She burst from her rock tent but felt the searing heat of fire before she could even utter a sound. The bright blaze, along with the sound of her shattering tent, quickly awoke the others but there were clearly unprepared for a fight.

Four older men peered down at the group, each dressed in regal robes. One of the robed men leaned closer towards them, the flames circling them bringing light to his face. Sokka and Katara both gasped in surprise.

"Well," Bumi cackled. "Look who's here!"

The four men quickly proceeded to head down to meet the group face to face. Toph raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's going on? She asked. "We're surrounded by old people."

"Not just any old people," Katara said as she approached an older man with long white hair. "These are great masters and friends of ours. Pakku," Katara bowed to him.

Pakku mirrored her and spoke when the rose. "It is respectful to bow before an old master," he smiled. "But how about a hug for your new grandfather?"

Sokka gave a squawk of surprise as his jaw dropped. Katara laughed and wrapped her waterbending master in a tight hug. "That's so exciting! You and Gran-Gran must be so happy to have found each other!"

Pakku smiled wider as Katara stepped back. "I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything."

The older man's smile twisted into an annoyed frown as Sokka slammed into him with another hug. "Welcome to the family, Gramp-Gramp!"

Pakku pealed himself away from the teen. "You can still just call me Pakku."

"How about…Gran-Pakku?" Sokka asked with a wide smile. Pakku stared at him.

"No."

"And this was Aang's first firebending teacher," Katara told the group as she gestured to one of the men.

"Jeong Jeong," he announced with a small bow.

"Master Piandao," Sokka said as he bowed deeply to his own master.

"Hello Sokka," Piandao smiled.

"So wait," Suki said with confusion evident in her voice. "How do you all know each other?"

"All old people know each other. Don't you know that?" Bumi asked with a wink and a cackle.

"We're all part of the same ancient secret society, a group that transcends the divisions of the four nations." Piandao answered.

"The Order White Lotus," Zuko breathed.

"That's the one!" Bumi agreed.

"The White Lotus has always been about philosophy, and beauty, and truth. But about a month ago a call went out that we were needed for something important." Jeong Jeong stated.

"It came from a Grand Lotus, your uncle," Pakku told Zuko. "Iroh of the Fire Nation."

"Well that's who we're look for!" Toph said excitedly.

"Then we'll take you to him." Piandao said with a smile.

Bumi shoved Piandao and Jeong Jeong out of the way. "Wait, someone's missing from your group…someone very important." He leaned in close to Sokka's face. "Where's Momo!?"

"He's gone…and so is Aang." Sokka answered sadly.

"Oh well," Bumi shrugged. "So long as they have each other I'm sure we have nothing to worry about! Let's go!" the man cackled as he shot off into the distance on a rock.

* * *

"Rai," a whisper called.

Raijin heard a voice trying to pull him from his peaceful slumber. He studiously ignored it and rolled over in his makeshift bed.

"Rai," the voice called again, louder.

The swordsman groaned slightly. "Sorry, I'm asleep. Can't hear you,"

There was a slight pause and Raijin smiled into his pillow. Then, "You can't answer me if you're sleeping!"

Raijin growled and slammed a pillow over his head. "Go away, Ty Lee,"

A few seconds later he felt something poke against his shoulder. "You have to get up Rai. Something really big just happened!"

Reluctantly, Raijin sat up and looked at the normally bubbly girl. Her hair was completely down and she was still in her sleep clothes as well, both top and bottom a bright pink color. He sighed. "Fine, I'm up. What's going on?"

Ty Lee glanced at the scars across his bare chest and frowned but quickly responded. "A group just arrived at the camp and you won't guess who's with them?"

"…your sisters?" he asked sarcastically.

The petite girl glared at him, though its effect was weakened by the gaudy pink outfit. "No! It's the Avatar's group, and they have Zuko with them!"

That got Raijin's attention. "Zuzu's with them, huh?" he grinned. "Guess we'd better go say hello then…though I would like to get dressed first if that's okay with you?"

The girl's blush matched perfectly with her bed clothes. Raijin smirked and pushed himself out of bed. "Meet me back here in five minutes," the girl nodded and quickly left.

Shortly after, Raijin and Ty Lee marched out to meet the newcomers who had made their way into the camp. Raijin eyed the group skeptically. These were the fighters that traveled with the Avatar, the supposed savior of the world? There were four that were visible and Zuko was not among them. Two of them were older girls, probably around Mai's age. Along with them were a shorter girl and a lone boy with a sword strapped across his back.

One of the elder girls was speaking to Pakku about something and the younger girl seemed to be talking to Bumi as well. The last two newcomers seemed to be just waiting for the others.

One of the two older girls saw Raijin and Ty Lee coming for them and her body instantly tensed. Without hesitation she marched directly up to Ty Lee and took a fighting stance that Raijin hadn't seen before. Beside him Ty Lee silently shifted into a defensive position.

"What are you doing here?" the girl hissed.

Ty Lee's mouth shifted into a dark frown. "I should be asking you that. We were here first anyway,"

"Like that matters. You just stay away from Sokka, Pinky."

An angry fluster turned the acrobat's face a light red. "Pinky?!"

Raijin calmly laid a hand on Ty Lee's shoulder. "Relax Ty; they're here to stop Ozai just like everyone else…aside from me anyway."

Ty Lee glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment before relaxing from her stance. "You're right," she admitted before she looked back over at the other girl. "Beside Suki, you can have Sokka. I'm over that little crush; he's not that cute anyway."

"Hey!" an angry cry came from behind Suki. The sword wielding boy stomped over. "I heard that!"

He drew his straight sword at the sight of Ty Lee and leveled it at her with a firm hand. "You! You better not be causing any trouble, Ty Lee."

Raijin chuckled slightly at his defensiveness. The boy, Raijin believed his name to be Sokka, quickly shifted the sword's point at him. "What's so funny, cyclops?"

"Cyclops, huh? Cute," Raijin smirked.

The expression quickly vanished as Raijin spun around the blade's point and slammed the back of his right hand into the wrist that held the sword. The weapon instantly dropped from his hand and Raijin snapped it from the air with his free hand as he finished his full circle spin. Within seconds he had the tip of the sword pressed lightly against Sokka's throat.

Raijin examined the blade as Sokka gulped loudly. Toph shifted into a fighting stance herself and Suki tensed again. "Let him go now," she demanded.

Raijin ignored her at glanced up from the sword at Sokka. "I recognize this style of sword. You trained under Master Piandao, didn't you?" he asked and lowered the blade from the teen's throat.

"Uh, yeah," he said nervously as the girls relaxed next to him. "I trained with him for a few days."

Raijin spun the sword around and handed it to Sokka, hilt first. Before he could say anything Piandao himself walked over to the group. "Ah, Sokka, I'd like you to meet a fellow pupil of mine. This is Raijin; he trained under me for a few years. Best student I ever had,"

Raijin grinned widely as Sokka snatched the sword and jammed it back into its sheath. He glared at Raijin, even as Toph chuckled lightly beside him. "I don't like you," he muttered as he stomped away, Suki following him after giving Ty Lee another hard glare.

Piandao glanced at Raijin curiously before walking away, muttering, "I've created a monster."

Raijin chuckled lightly before he felt a pair of eyes burning into his back. "What?" he asked as Ty Lee's icy glare. "I like to mess with people."

"By the way, I'm Toph," the youngest girl said.

"I'm Raijin, and I'm guessing you already know Ty Lee?" he said and held out a hand.

Toph stared at it blankly. "Uh, I appreciate the gesture but I'm kinda blind." She waved a hand in front of her face for emphasis.

Raijin withdrew the hand and scratched his head. "But how can you…"

"I can see vibrations in the ground." Toph answered the question before he could ask it.

"Whoa," the teen muttered. "That's pretty epic."

"Yep, it tends to come in handy." Toph said as she spit on the ground. Behind him Raijin heard Ty Lee squeal in disgust and smirked.

"Oh and you should probably know something else too," Toph said.

The blind earthbender's arms flashed upward as she slammed a foot solidly into the ground. Before Raijin could even blink he was incased up to the neck into stone and dirt. Toph grinned up at him. "I like to mess with people too."

Raijin struggled for a moment before chuckling lightly. "I think we're gonna get along just fine, Toph."

The young girl smirked as she bended the earth away from him and walked over to the girl who was talking to Pakku.

Brushing a bit of dirt off his clothes Raijin glanced over at Ty Lee. "So what all do you know about these guys?"

"Well," she scrunched up her face in thought. "Toph is really sarcastic and tough and can bend metal, the boy, Sokka, is funny and I used to have crush on him. He can't bend though. The other girl, Suki, is from Kyoshi Island in the Earth Kingdom. She's a good fighter but I can take her. The girl in the blue is Katara, she's Sokka's sister. She a master waterbender and can hold her own against Azula. And you already know Zuko."

Raijin raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you do a study on them or something?"

Ty Lee shrugged. "Azula made us learn everything we could about them. Know thy enemy or something like that, I don't really remember."

Raijin nodded and scanned the group again. "Sounds like her. So…which one's the Avatar?"

"The short bald one with arrows tattoo all over him." she answered.

"Uh-huh…I don't see any tattooed people, Ty."

The girl jumped on Raijin shoulder and scanned the area. "That's funny, he's not here. And Zuko is missing too."

"Fantastic. Can you get down now?" Ty Lee giggled as she flipped down.

"Zuko went with Jeong Jeong to see his Uncle." Katara answered as she walked over to them. "So what are you doing here, Ty Lee? I thought you'd be with Azula or in prison with Mai."

Ty Lee opened her mouth to explain but Raijin cut her off. "Zuko went to see Iroh?"

Katara looked at him strangely. "Yes, and who are you?"

Raijin waved a hand dismissively. "That's irrelevant right now. We need to hurry if we're going to catch the show."

"Show?" Katara and Ty Lee asked, even as the rest of the large group slowly made its way over to them.

Raijin grinned evilly. "Guess whose tent is next to Iroh's?"

* * *

"Your uncle's tent is directly ahead, Prince Zuko. You cannot miss it." The Fire Nation deserter yawned loudly. "Now I must retire to bed. I do not have the energy to keep up with you kids anymore."

"Of course, Master Jeong Jeong. Thank you again for your help." Zuko bowed deeply as the older man disappeared into his tent.

Zuko walked up to the tent but hesitated before going in. _My uncle hates me…I know it._

"Hello Zuko," a monotone voice asked from behind him. Zuko felt ice water shoot through his veins as he turned around to face the speaker.

"Mai…" he whispered.

The girl stared at him. "I think we need to have a little talk, Zuko."

* * *

And so ends part one of Reunions. Part two should pick up the pace a little bit. And after this will be the epic area of Sozin's Comet.

I'm sorry about the time it took to update. This went through seven full rewrites before the final edition. Again, if anyone is well versed in Avatar and a good beta-reader then I'll gladly take the help.

Also, the next update should come faster. My classes are winding down and I'm going to try and force myself to find a writing rhythm and write for at least an hour a day. Hopefully, that'll help with the writing speed.

Ah, one thing I can explain during the story: the interaction between Raijin, Sokka, and Toph. I like Sokka a lot but the guy only served under for Piandao for a few days whereas Raijin was under him for years. Raijin is arguably the best swordsman in the world so he can waste Sokka without a thought really.

As for Toph, I added it in for three reasons. One, Toph and Raijin are a lot alike, except for Raijin being a lot more malicious. Two, I wanted to show Raijin's weakness. He can talk firebenders and, to a degree, waterbenders. He'd be in big trouble if he had to fight Toph though. And three, I don't want Raijin becoming a Gary-Stu; he can't be able to beat everyone. That'd just be boring.


	10. Reunions, Part 2

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from my own original characters and concepts. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all of its characters are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I own nothing and make nothing from this work.

Summary: Takes place shortly after The Boiling Rock, Part 2. Ever wonder what happened to Mai and Ty Lee during Sozin's Comet? Prison escapes, chimera monsters, freakish firebenders, secret takeovers, dragons, sibling rivalries, and evil spirits. It's all here.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10: Reunions, Part 2

* * *

Ozai peered through the blazing fire that surrounded his throne at one of his most loyal advisers. He was clothed in the customary robes of the Grand Fire Sage: a black hakama and a billowy Fire Nation red robe with a golden belt over it. The man's head was utterly bald; understandable considering that he was almost sixty. His chin however was covered by a long silver-gray beard, held in place by crossing bands of leather strips.

This man had supported Ozai throughout his entire campaign, and his father's before him. He was the absolute leader in all knowledge of the Spirit World. Ozai trusted his word more than any other, possibly even more than his own blood Azula.

"You are sure that the spirits will take no action should we destroy all of Earth Kingdom?" Ozai asked calmly, arching his fingers in thought. The fires around his throne continued to burn brightly.

"I assure you, Fire Lord Ozai," the adviser purred, his voice strong and smooth, like a finely aged wine. "There will be little to no reaction from the spirits at all. At the very worst it may anger some weaker spirits but they are nothing to worry about."

"Perfect. I'll have General Sao begin to ready the war balloons immediately. While I lead the invasion against the Earth Kingdom, I'd like your son to stay here at the palace with Azula. I expect my son and the Avatar to try something when the comet arrives."

"Of course, Fire Lord Ozai. Would you have me remain here in the palace or depart to analyze the Spirit World from the remains of Roku's temple on Crescent Island?"

"Remain here until I depart and then take your leave. Send a messenger hawk to me immediately should something significant happen within the Spirit World." Ozai told him, the firelight reflecting brilliantly off his golden eyes.

"Of course I shall, my lord." The elderly man said with a deep bow that nearly dragged his beard onto the floor. He rose and began to depart from the Fire Lord's throne room.

"Hanzo," Ozai called out to him.

Hanzo stopped and turned to face the Fire Lord again. "Yes, my lord?"

"What of your son, Raijin? Does he still pose a threat to me?" Ozai inquired. As the Fire Lord, Ozai could never focus completely on one enemy, in this case the Avatar, lest another could take him out.

Hanzo smiled darkly. "He will be no worry of yours, Fire Lord Ozai. My son will be focused on seeking vengeance against myself and his brother, Razeial, before he even thinks about you. Razeial is a much stronger warrior than his brother and will crush him like an insect."

Ozai smirked as the flames before him burned hotter than ever. "That is what I like to hear. You may take your leave now, Hanzo."

Hanzo bowed again and left the room. As soon as he stepped through the entrance, a heavy iron door slid shut behind him. The room's guardian locked the deadbolt to the door before turning to face Hanzo.

He was clad in impressive armor. Study but lightweight, which allowed for maximum movement and agility. His body was larger than most soldiers, thick and wide with deceptive speed. The warrior's hair was as black as night, pulled into a high ponytail with two sharp bangs hanging over his forehead like fangs. Strapped to the back of his armor was a spear, its shaft made of iron and its head formed in the shape of the Fire Nation emblem. Finally, the most noticeable trait of the warrior was his eyes. They burned like molten gold, fiercer than any Fire Nation soldier could ever dream.

The elderly man peered up at the warrior with clever golden eyes. "You heard everything?"

"Yes, father, I heard everything." Razeial replied. "I shall remain here until the time arrives."

"Good. How fares Princess Azula?" Hanzo inquired.

Razeial seemed to be at a loss for words momentarily. "She is…unwell to say the least, father. She is becoming more unbalanced by the day. Apparently, the betrayal of her friends seems to have affected her very deeply on a mental level."

Hanzo stoked his beard in thought. "It would make sense. Azula tried to control through a combination of power, knowledge, and strategy, and usually succeeded with ease. To have someone defy all three of those in a matter of seconds would shake her, but to have a lifelong friend do it…" he trailed off.

"Indeed," Razeial muttered. "Shall I eliminate her when the time arrives?"

Hanzo quickly scanned the halls for others before glaring at his son. Razeial was quick to assure his father. "No one enters this sanctum unless absolutely necessary, father. Between myself and the Fire Lord, there is much to fear here."

Hanzo's glare did not lessen an iota. "Be that as it may, you may ruin everything by speaking so boldly fool." He hissed and lowered his voice. "As for the Princess, only do it if necessary. She will provide an excellent distraction for any who arrive to oppose us."

Razeial nodded. "And what of Raijin? You expect him to show up here?"

Hanzo nodded. "He will follow us to the ends of this world to gain his vengeance. If at all possible, kill him. But be warned my son, I do not know how the comet shall effect either of you."

Razeial nodded. "I will keep a watchful eye over the palace's proceedings, father. Should my brother appear, I _will_ kill him. I shall not let you down."

"Good," Hanzo spoke as he began to depart from his eldest son. "I've planned for far too long to let it all slip away now.

* * *

As Zuko stared at Mai in the flickering light of dozens of torches, he felt as though his inner fire had been replaced by a snowball.

"M-mai," he managed to stammer out after a moment. "What are you doing here?"

That was apparently not a wise thing to say as Mai's blank face shifted into a scowl and her glare darkened. As she strode over to his, shadows dancing across her face as she moved towards him, Zuko suddenly felt himself wishing for an Azula ambush.

"What am I doing here, Zuko?" she stated, her anger breaking through her normal monotone. "Don't you mean 'how did you get out of jail' or 'why didn't Azula kill you', Zuko?"

Zuko felt himself subconsciously backing up until he hit a tent. Mai marched right up into his face, her gaze becoming more and more fearsome.

"What do you…" Zuko began.

"You left me to die, Zuko!" Mai cut him off.

The silence that engulfed the camp then was deafening.

"Mai, you know I would never do that to you." Zuko said softly. "I care about you way too much to ever do that."

"Then why did you just leave me there to face Azula and several guards? Did you even think about what was going to happen to me once I helped you?"

"I never thought Azula would…" Zuko started again before Mai cut him off.

"I_ betrayed Azula_, Zuko. What did you think she was going to do, forgive me? She was going to kill me, Zuko, and you didn't even try to stop her. All you cared about was getting your new friends out of that hellhole! If it wasn't for Ty Lee, I'd be dead right now!" Mai shouted, her normal composure gone as hot tears began to burn her eyes.

This wasn't Mai, the silent warrior of the Fire Nation. This was Mai, the angry, confused, and heartbroken teenager. And, like most teenage boys, Zuko had no idea on how to handle her.

"The only reason why I'm here now is because of your uncle. He, along with a few other men, rescued Ty Lee and I from a prison that made the Boiling Rock look like a vacation resort." She told him as she glanced back at Iroh's tent behind her.

"But what I want to know, Zuko," She began but her anger seemed to fail her and her glare faded into searing tears that raced down her cheeks, the torchlight dancing across them timidly. "What I want to know is why you abandoned me?"

"Abandon you?" Zuko muttered in disbelief. "Mai, I would never do that to you. I thought you wanted me to get away?"

Mai ran a hand through her hair with a deep breath as she turned away from Zuko. She hastily wiped her tears away with the back of her hand before she faced him again. "I did want you to get away Zuko. But I also wanted you to come back for me."

"Mai, I…"

The normally stoic girl cut him off again. "Zuko, you snuck into one of the most high security prisons in the entire world to help rescue the father of someone that you've been fighting against for most of the last year. But you left me there after I risked everything to protect you."

Zuko seemed to deflate at her words. The banished prince slumped to the ground, leaning heavy against one of the torch stands. "You're right, Mai, you absolutely right. You risked your life to help save us…and I just left you to die. I was so focused on getting everyone out of there and then stopping my father, I never thought…" Zuko ran a hand angrily through his hair. "I'm such an idiot!"

Mai crossed her arms and stood over Zuko. "Yes. Yes, you are," she agreed, slipping back into her monotone as a faint smirk slid across her face for a moment.

"I am so sorry, Mai. Can you…" she silenced him with a firm finger to the lips.

"Zuko," she began, a hidden warmth sneaking into her tone. "You are an idiot for forgetting about me after I risked my life to save you. But I guess it was a little unrealistic of me to think that you'd drop everything to come save me. I guess I just really thought there was something real between us…"

Zuko bolted upright, seizing the girl gently, but firmly by the arms. His golden eyes burned into her into her own with frightening intensity. She suddenly felt her breath leave her in a rush and her stomach began to flip like Ty Lee on a sugar high.

"Mai, what I felt for you _was_ real. Never doubt that, not for one second. I do love you, more than anything else in the world…" Zuko told her, her gaze never leaving hers.

It took several seconds for Mai to snap out of her Zuko-induced stupor. "Why do I sense a 'but' coming?"

Zuko sighed at her words. "But," he continued. "So many people depend on our little ragtag group that…that," he struggled with his next words. "That it's more important than our relationship right now. But after the war…!"

Again Mai cut him off with a gentle finger to the lips. "That's the Zuko I know," she whispered as she looked up at him with a warm smile. "That's the man I love. We'll help save the world and then we can be together."

Zuko beamed at her. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

She raised a hand and gently caressed his cheek, just below his scar. "I don't hate you."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and pulled her close. "I don't hate you either."

Their lips met in a simple, but loving kiss. Every ounce of love that they held for one another was palpable as the torches behind them danced wildly in the thin strips of moonlight in the night. They felt entirely complete for that one eternal moment.

"Aw, don't they look cute!" a voice cut in.

"Yep, about as cute as a Scorpion-Viper bite, if you ask me."

And that moment was now over.

Mai and Zuko felt both their faces burn red when they saw a large group openly staring at them from about fifteen feet away. Toph had a wide, malicious grin across her face and Sokka was clutching his stomach where Suki had elbowed him before he could say something. Piandao, Pakku, Jeong Jeong, and even Bumi looked like they would rather be anywhere else. Katara had faint tears in her eyes from the scene and Ty Lee was openly beaming at the couple from where she sat on Raijin's shoulders. Raijin looked like he was halfway to being disgusted and halfway to falling asleep.

"Rai!" Ty Lee nudged him in the chest with her heels. "Be nice to them!"

"What are you all doing here?!" Zuko boomed.

"It's the middle of the night, Sparky." Toph told him. "We need something to keep us entertained."

"And man, oh man, seeing you talk like that will keep me entertained for the next decade!" Sokka chuckled at him before getting another elbow from his girlfriend.

"Leave them alone, Sokka! Zuko, I thought it was very nice."

Katara nodded with a grin, ignoring how bright her eyes were and how much she suddenly missed Aang. "I never would've thought you'd be such a charmer, Zuko."

Mai's scowled returned in full force, though it was less effective with a blush burning her cheeks. "I'm going to bed." She strode off into her tent in a huff.

Ty Lee hopped off Raijin's shoulder and followed after her. "Wait Mai, we have so much to talk about now!"

"Well, we're off to bed too! Night everyone!" Katara said quickly, quickly grabbing a chuckling Toph as Suki tugged Sokka along behind them.

"But we don't even know where we're sleeping!" Sokka protested as he was dragged off.

The remaining White Lotus members quickly scattered as well.

If anything Zuko's face had grown even redder by now, though it wasn't clear if it was from embarrassment or anger.

"I…you….Raijin…" he sputtered before finally yelling. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?!"

The older teen shrugged. "Probably. I've actually been in a top secret Fire Nation prison for the past few years. What've you been up to, Zu-zu?"

"Don't call me that!" Zuko burst out. Raijin's face split into a wide grin.

"Fine, fine. Just keep it down or you'll wake your uncle up."

That seemed to strike a chord in the Fire Nation prince. "Uncle…I still have to apologize to uncle."

Raijin rolled his lone eye at the younger teen and walked over to him, clapping a firm hand over his shoulder. "Zuko, it's your uncle we're talking about here. Regardless of what you did, he's probably going to forgive you."

Zuko said nothing as he stared at his uncle's tent. Raijin sighed and pushed him towards it.

"Go inside and wait for him, maybe get some rest yourself. Tomorrow you're gonna need it."

Zuko spun and fixed Raijin with a glower. "Why is that?"

Raijin's grin nearly split his face. "Because tomorrow after breakfast, you've got sword practice with me. We'll need to have a little talk away."

Raijin clapped the banished prince on the shoulder and gave it a painful squeeze before he walked away into the night.

Zuko stared after him for a moment before groaning and walking into his uncle's tent.

* * *

The next morning Raijin wasn't surprised to see Zuko already waiting for him in an open gravel clearing, going through his basic sword motions.

He was surprised, however, to see Piandao and a still half asleep Sokka sitting off to the side.

Raijin openly raised an eyebrow at the two as he approached. Piandao greeted him with a warm smile and a bow of the head, which Raijin promptly returned. "Ah Raijin, I hope you don't mind Sokka and I sitting in on your training session today. Sokka, while talented, is still very inexperienced with his sword skills and I think it would do him good to see two more experienced fighters sparring."

Raijin shrugged. "Whatever you think will help him. Besides, you're _my_ Sifu so don't you technically tell me what to do anyway?"

Piandao chuckled. "We both know that you outgrew my teachings years ago."

Raijin shrugged again before turning and striding to the center of the clearing. He called back to the pair as he walked though. "Once a Sifu, always a Sifu."

Zuko sheathed his swords as the older teen approached. "You're late,"

"No, you're just earlier than I expected." Raijin told him. "I'm assuming that Iroh forgave you pretty quickly once you begged forgiveness?"

"Yes, he did." Zuko answered with a bit of uncertainness in his voice. "You don't sound happy about that."

Raijin's face was blank as he unsheathed his twin swords from his back. "I'm not," he answered as he stretched slightly, absently twirling the blades as he did so. "That's what our little talk's going to be about. But first, let's see how often you've been practicing."

Sokka grumbled to himself as Piandao handed him a cup of tea. The Water Tribe teen was clearly disgruntled. They'd been woken up in the middle of the night; only to spend another hour awake in the camp before going back to sleep so they could wake up at dawn! What kind of logic was that?! Still even with his mind in a slightly hazy state, Sokka quickly noticed the different styles that Raijin, at least that's what he was pretty sure he name was, and Zuko were using.

"I see you've already picked up on the different styles that Zuko and Raijin each use." Piandao spoke when he noticed the sudden spark of curiosity in Sokka's eye. "I don't believe I ever told you about the different sword styles of the Four Nations have I Sokka?"

Sokka merely shook his head as he watched Zuko swing both of his blades down in a twirling circle of death. Raijin neatly stepped out the blades reach and spun his left knee at Zuko's midsection. The fire prince swiftly jumped back from the strike and then quickly had to jump over the following leg sweep.

"You see, Sokka," Piandao began. "Each of the Four Nation's has its own distinctive fighting style with swords. Zuko is using a pair of dual dao swords which are…"

Sokka cut him off, though his eyes never left the sparring pair. "Fire Nation, right?"

Piandao shook his head. "No. Zuko is actually using the Water Tribe's style of swordsmanship."

That got Sokka's attention, along with his ire. "What?! What do you mean Zuko's using a Water Tribe style?"

Meanwhile, Raijin had gone on the offensive now. His strikes came at dozens of different angles, some in thrusts and others in slices. Zuko was blocking them well but the sheer speed that Raijin was moving at was beginning to force the younger teen back.

"Well, when Raijin first began to teach Zuko how to wield a sword, he figured that it would be best that Zuko have something that would support his firebending, not mimic it."

"This guy taught Zuko?" Sokka asked, surprise clear in his voice. "But they're almost the same age!"

"Which says quite a lot about Raijin's ability; he is one of the best swordsmen in the world." Piandao informed him.

Zuko abruptly dropped to the ground, surprising Raijin. Zuko's right arm was a blur as he swung one blade at Raijin's shins, forcing the teen to jump over the blade. Zuko quickly used the momentum from his swing to pull himself up and launched a follow-up slice with his left blade. Raijin promptly blocked it with both of his swords and used Zuko's momentum to back flip in midair and land a few feet away with a grin on his face.

"Notice how Zuko moves, Sokka," Piandao spoke. "His moves all flow together in a pattern, and notice how few of them are actually thrusts. Likewise, waterbending is all about flow and movement, generally bending in arcs and curves. Firebending, on the other hand, focuses on stronger strikes and thrusts."

Sokka glanced at his own sword, which lay in its sheath next to him. "So, that means that I use…"

"You use the firebending style, like myself. It is one of the quickest styles to learn the basics on, which is why I taught it to you. Also, this style works very well in unison with other people, especially benders."

Sokka nodded in understanding. "You're right. Zuko and I used a kind of formation when we last fought Azula. I could keep her off balance with my long range and Zuko could step in and use his firebending."

"Exactly." Piandao acknowledged.

Sokka's mind was now really starting to get going. "So, what are the other styles for the nations?"

Before Piandao could answer, a loud _clang_ rang out as Zuko's and Raijin's blades slammed into one another with a force. Each fighter had formed their swords into an X type shape and were struggling for dominance. Raijin was quickly beginning to overpower Zuko with his superior size and strength.

"Well," Piandao continued on. "Earth Kingdom warriors seem to usually prefer clubs or war hammers in this age but in the past they would use what is known as a Dadao."

"A what?" Sokka asked.

"A Dadao. It's fairly similar to one of Zuko's dao, except for the fact that it is much larger and requires two hands to wield properly. While it is a slower weapon, it is very powerful. Many earthbenders are also known to sacrifice speed for power, but I believe your friend Toph is the exception in that category."

Raijin forcibly pushed Zuko backwards, making the smaller teen stumble slightly. Seeing the opportunity, Raijin rushed in with both blades dragging across the rocky ground causing small sparks to fly up. The silver eyed swordsmen swung both of his swords up simultaneously. Zuko, who had crossed his blades in an attempt to block the maneuver, grimaced as both of his weapons were ripped from his hands from the force of the blow, being flung several feet away on either side of him. Likewise, Raijin's own dual blades flew from his hands, each sailing a few feet in the air above the pair.

Raijin wasted little time in worry about his weapons as he spun around and sent Zuko airborne with a vicious leg sweep. Completing his spin, Raijin snatched both of his swords out of the air and slammed their hilts into Zuko's chest, driving the teen into the ground with a heavy grunt.

Raijin snorted as he looked down as Zuko. "Not bad for a warm up. Your skills are there but you haven't been practicing as much as you should have. Considering I haven't been able to properly use my swords for five years…you should have beaten me into the ground there. "

Zuko pushed himself to his feet with an angry snort, a puff of steam rushing from his nostrils briefly. He hastily retrieved his swords and took up another fighting stance. "It's not like I've had a lot of time to practice recently."

Raijin raised an eyebrow. "You want to go all out already?" he snorted and shook his head. "Fine by me. It'll give us a chance to have our little talk."

Sokka was riveted by the display of skill between the two. Who knew that Zuko was that good…and just how good was this other guy? Then he remembered something. "By Master Piandao, what about the Air Nomads? Did they use swords too?"

Piandao frowned slightly. "The Air Nomads…are a hard group to pin down. Their entire way of life was centered around a lack of violence, foregoing it for enlightenment. However, the monks did know how to defend themselves when necessary. It's been said that some airbenders could simply bend a blade of wind from an empty sword hilt and use that in battle."

Sokka scratched his chin. "I think I remember Aang mentioning something like that once."

Piandao continued. "However, non-airbenders were not helpless either. Aside from a staff that they were known to carry at nearly all times, it was been recorded that many of the monk's also what is referred to as a Monk's Spade. While not exactly a sword style, it was a formidable weapon that allowed for the monks to use their great speed and agility to their advantage."

"That makes sense, though I can't say I could ever see Aang using something like that." Sokka told him. "But if those are the four styles of the Four Nations…what exactly is he using?" he asked with a gesture to Raijin.

Piandao sighed. "Raijin's style is more of a reflection of his own bending style instead of any one nation's. Due to his odd bending capabilities I trained Raijin extensively in both the firebending style with a jian, much like your own, and the waterbending style with dual dao swords like Zuko.

"While at home and reading through some older scrolls, Raijin came across an old sword design from early Fire Nation times. It was similar to the jian but shorter and curved much less than a dao. It was known as a Ninjato."

"A ninjato?" Sokka asked. "Never heard of it,"

"Yes, well not many remember it anymore," Piandao admitted. "Raijin, however, saw great potential in the weapon and with my help he forged a pair of them. They are able to utilize the speed and flow of the waterbending style, along with the striking power of the firebending style. It took him almost three years to completely master them, and considering it took him only a few months to master both the Jian and dual dao, that is saying something."

Meanwhile, Zuko and Raijin were having a fierce stare down…well as much as the two of them could anyway. Piandao noticed and made a quieting gesture at Sokka.

"I believe Raijin is about to get serious with Zuko. I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later…"

"What's going to happen?" Sokka asked him quietly, staring at the two sword wielders.

"Raijin often gets his aggression out by fighting…and Zuko's about to get the brunt of it."

Like clockwork, the two teens calmly began to circle one another in the center of the field. Zuko held both of his dao in a death grip, his knuckles turning white around their hilts. Raijin, however, seemed relaxed in stature but his eye had taken on a dark gleam.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Zuko asked as he continued to move.

"I wanted to talk about our pasts," Raijin commented easily, before his tone darkened considerably. "And your uncle,"

Zuko looked confused. "What about my…!"

He was cut off, and nearly cut in half, as Raijin dashed forward swinging his swords, one in a horizontal arc and the other a vertical one. Zuko quickly managed to jump back from both attacks but couldn't counter the jumping kick to his ribs that followed the attack.

Zuko stumbled back as the wind rushed from him for a moment. Raijin followed up the kick by swinging his ninjato's downward at the teen. Zuko blocked both blades with his own, the contact brought the two's faces only inches apart.

"Our pasts are very similar," Raijin told him, his tone calm but cold. "Our fathers hurt us in ways thought unimaginable by most. Your father almost burned half your face off and kicked you from your own kingdom."

Zuko lowered his shoulder and plowed into the larger teen, trying to knock him off balance. Raijin shifted his weight and took the blow, sliding him back a few feet but otherwise unharmed. Zuko immediately rushed at him in a whirl of furious silver. Blows rained down on Raijin from all side but none made contact as he dodged and blocked every one before swinging his fist out and smashing a hilt into Zuko's face.

Zuko stumbled back again, attentively clutching his face while keeping both eyes locked on his opponent. Raijin made no attempt to follow up his attack.

"My father," he continued. "Injected with a substance that mutated my firebending and when it didn't work out the way he liked he, along with your father, had me throw into a jail that technically doesn't exist."

Raijin glowered at Zuko. "Tell me, Zuko, do you see the difference yet?"

Zuko said nothing as he took a fighting stance again. This just seemed to make Raijin angrier. "Fine, Zuko, I'll tell you! You were given freedom as a punishment!"

Raijin blitzed the Fire Nation prince, using his swords a distraction as he slammed a knee into Zuko's midsection. The force of the blow lifted Zuko off the ground as he gagged, spit flying from his mouth. Raijin quickly slammed the flat end of his right blade into Zuko's shoulder, sending the teen skidding across the ground.

Raijin slammed both of his ninjato into the ground as he waited for Zuko to rise. From the corner of his eye he could see Piandao visibly talking down Sokka from trying to help Zuko. Raijin paid them no mind.

"That's right; you were given freedom as a punishment, Zuko. Your father gave you a ship, a crew, and your uncle even went along for the ride. You didn't _have_ to search for the Avatar; you were essentially on a glorified vacation. But me….no, I was stuck in a dark, damp, bloody cell for five nightmarish years. I had to kill people, Zuko! I had to survive against monsters that not even the Spirit World can imagine!"

Raijin took a few deep breaths to compose himself as Zuko rose. "But that's not even what makes me so furious at you…"

"And what would that be?" Zuko barked out in defiance, rushing Raijin again.

"How you betrayed your uncle," Raijin told him.

Zuko stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"Even I have heard of what happened, Zuko. After everything he's done for you, everything he's sacrificed….you betrayed your uncle for the man who abandoned you in the first place!"

Zuko didn't even see the fist slam into his jaw. He was sent sprawling onto the ground, stars dancing merrily before his eyes. His dao bounced across the ground several feet away.

Raijin strode over to him and lifted him up by his shirt, showing surprising strength. "Your uncle had done everything a father could dream of doing for you Zuko. To a person like you, who has so much hate for his own father, how could you betray him?! After Lu Ten died, Iroh looked to you as his next son…do you any idea how jealous I was?"

"You were jealous?" Zuko asked, though his words were slightly slurred.

"Sprits, yes! I idolized Lu Ten as my older brother because Razeial is as bad as my father. When Lu Ten died, I lost one of my best friends and my first mentor. Iroh was devastated but I hoped that I could try and fill Lu Ten's shoes…but he chose you." Raijin finished tiredly as he let Zuko drop to the ground and then slumped down himself.

"You're right," Zuko agreed as he sat up, lightly rubbing his jaw. He would have to ask Katara to heal it later. "I did betray my uncle and I have no excuse for that. I was weak, trying to gain the respect of my father just so I could have it. Uncle may have forgiven me, but I can't forgive myself, not yet."

Zuko stared Raijin dead in the eye. "Anything you can inflict with your swords won't equal to the anguish I've put myself through over it."

The pair stared at one another for a few silent moments. Finally, Raijin stood and offered Zuko a hand with a small smile. That gesture said more than any words could convey. "That's what I wanted to hear. Let's go get cleaned up."

Zuko took the hand and Raijin pulled him to his feet. The Fire Nation prince stare dumbfounded at the silver eyed teen as he sheathed his ninjato. "That's it?"

Raijin shrugged. "That's it. I said my piece and got my thoughts and aggression out. Whatever you do from here on out is up to you…of course if you do betray Iroh, or any of us for that matter, I will kill you."

Zuko blinked at him, before smiling and shaking his head. "I will never figure you out, Rai."

"No one ever has, Zu-zu."

Zuko glared at him as he sheathed his twin dao. "Don't call me that," A brief look of confusion crossed his face. "By the way, how come you aren't dead? The last time I saw you…"

Raijin grinned widely. "The last time you saw me I was getting taken away by a dozen palace guards and my brother. The conclusion you came to is just the logical one. To be honest, I'm not sure why my father didn't just have me executed."

Zuko nodded as the two began to walk back towards camp. "What happened to your eye?"

"Hmm?"

"You know what happened to my eye," Zuko gestured at the aforementioned eye. "What happened to yours?"

Raijin chuckled. "You remember when my new bending….abilities manifested, right? Well, sometime during my time in Kurosaka, they mutated my eye into a rock…gem…thing."

"Can you still see from it?"

Raijin shook his head. "Nope, at least not in the basic sense."

Zuko frowned at him. "What does that mean?"

Raijin grinned. "You'll find out,"

The two continued to talk as they walked back into the camp, leaving Sokka and Piandao in the field. Sokka's jaw was all but scraping the ground. Piandao was sipping his tea lightly.

"What the heck was that?!" Sokka finally exclaimed. "Patchy beats the crap out of Zuko and screams at him about betraying his uncle and all that other stuff….and then everything's fine?! Why are Fire Nation people so hard to understand?" the Water Tribe teen moaned as he clutched at his head.

"I told you, Sokka that is how Raijin expresses a lot of his emotions. It is very rare of him to have a heartfelt talk. He generally says his piece and that's the end." Piandao informed him, ignoring his jibe at the Fire Nation.

Sokka sighed as he slumped to the ground. "I miss Momo…"

* * *

Yeah, I totally got this up by mid-April huh? Over a month late but nearly triple sized for your pleasure! I'm sorry about the tardiness but its hard to write when I should really be looking for a job. I also blame it on the lack of Avatar I've seen lately because I can't find the season 3 box set! Seriously, I don't think it really exists. Anyway, I was able to do most of the chapter in a few days. I just really, really struggled with the Mai and Zuko scene. It was harder to write than anything else I've ever written.

Anyway, onto more important matters!

After re-reading my past chapters, and with a review further driving it home, I'm going to go back through and edit the past chapters. Basically, I'll be adding new scenes focusing on different characters, and trying to incorporate more action into the story.

I'll repost all the chapters all at once, along with a new chapter, when I'm done. The new chapter shouldn't take long because I plan on doing something like "Tales of Ba Sing Se" from the show for each character.

Also, what did everyone think of the Four Nation swords styles? I'm a really big fan of swords and wanted to try and incorporate them into the Avatar universe as a fighting style for non-benders, like the show did for Sokka.

As for Raijin's eye…I have big plans for it, ha-ha!


End file.
